The Aftermath of Mount Woe
by Nanaki
Summary: Part Two of the Mount Woe duology, covering the events of 12,010 to 12,000 B.C. As Queen Zeal slowly changes into something more and less than human, a new hope rises in the form of Princess Schala...
1. Another New Source

(Nanaki's note: Hi everyone! I honestly have no idea why this story disappeared in 2003, but it's back now! I know this was one of the biggest stories on the site when I first posted it up, but I'm sure that was no longer the case in 2003, so I really have no idea why it went down. Anyway, enjoy! Also, look for Trials of the King and Tempo Trigger to FINALLY show up here before long.)

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 1**

**Another New Source**

By Nanaki

12,010 B.C.

"What we must do now," Zeal announced, "is find a new power source."

"With all due respect, your majesty, that's a lot easier said than done." One of the old advisors pointed out.

"Under normal means, yes." Zeal frowned. "But nothing that's been going on lately falls into the normal category. If that Weapon doesn't want us to use the planet's energy, she should be more than happy to help us find something else. Schala's unusual abilities will also help in the search."

"So we're really going to raise the island again?" Gaspar asked from his stretcher.

"Of course! You don't want Vigo's sacrifice to be in vain, do you?" Since Zeal looked like she would try to vaporise anyone who said yes, everyone kept their mouths shut.

.

A while later, Zeal blew a stray strand of hair out of her face as she left the council room. Karak was sitting in the hall, looking exceedingly bored. "You're still here?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I figured you guys still needed help. What do you want us to do?"

"Nothing. We can handle it."

"To proud to ask for help, huh?" Karak looked like he had expected this. "You stuck up... Never mind. I guess I'll be taking my leave then." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Karak turned back around. "Don't go yet!" Zeal pleaded. Karak looked surprised now. Zeal quickly put an angry expression on her face. "You didn't really come up here because you thought we needed help."

"I didn't?" Karak looked confused.

"No. Deep down, you came up here because you thought this would PROVE you were better than Vigo!"

"What are you getting so angry about?" Karak backed away as she stepped menacingly forward. "Besides, I thought you never showed your emotions anyway."

"Shut up!" Zeal reached back as far as she could, and slapped him in the face. His head didn't move an inch, but she didn't seem to notice. "I only show emotions to people I care about!"

"What the hell? You're showing 'em right now!"

"I told you to shut up! That's a royal order!"

"In case you've forgotten, I'm royalty too, your high and mightyness."

Zeal growled in frustration. "You haven't changed a bit since you were twelve!"

A slightly understanding look came into his face. "Are you still mad about... that?"

"Of course! You never apologized. Until then, I looked up to you, because you were a good leader. Then that one day, when I was walking by, you told some inane joke, and then made fun of me because I didn't laugh at it. Then you got this weird look on your face when I didn't get mad at you. Vigo started yelling something at you, but I left..."

"I was twelve! Gimme a break!" But she wasn't listening anymore.

"Vigo..." Then she looked up at him, but seemed to stare through him at the same time. "He shouldn't be dead yet!!" She screamed, then burst into tears. She launched herself into him, pounding the armor on his chest, and they both collapsed to the floor. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?! How? I am sorry he's dead. But... Zeal..." She finally ceased her bombardment, looking up at him strangely through disheveled hair, tears streaming down her face. "You got your revenge. The Weapons are dead, except for one, and she's helping us!"

Zeal turned around and sat back against the wall next to him. "Then why don't I feel better?"

.

"Ready to begin Schala?" Violen asked softly. The young girl nodded. "Okay. You're going to be the focus point of this search. My powers will be augmenting yours, but you'll be in control." Without further ado, they both closed their eyes. Schala felt herself leaving her body, and traveling down into the ground. Somehow, probably through Violen's power, she felt like she knew the territory well. She reached everywhere, looking for anything new.

All she found was the planet's energy. Lots and lots of it, streaming everywhere. It almost flooded her senses, there was so much. Schala wanted to scream. 'There's a ton of this stuff! More than anyone could ever use! What was the problem?'

'More than any one could use yes.' Violen replied. Schala gulped as she realized that of course her thoughts would be open in here, wherever "here" actually was. 'But many people using this could drain it quickly. That is why I cannot allow your people any more access to it.'

'Sure thing.' Schala said nervously. Watching what you said out loud was one thing. Watching what you automatically thought was much harder. She resumed her search of the underground. As she went deeper, she discovered a lot of heat. But you couldn't float something on hot air. At least, not a huge mountain.

Then, in the midst of the heat, an aberration. Small compared to everything, but upon closer investigation, it clearly had a huge energy signature unlike anything she had ever experienced. Looking even closer, Schala saw tons of magical energy on every wavelength, and some magic she hadn't seen before. There was a tremendous amount of energy emanating from this thing, but the most surprising part was -

"Its alive?" Schala asked out loud, her eyelids jerking open roughly.

"Oh. That... thing." Violen said distastefully. "I wouldn't reccomend using it."

"Fine for you to say." Schala said crossly. "But right now, its all we got!" Schala got up and ran out the door.

.

Zeal looked up as the outer door burst open. She quickly shrugged off Karak's supporting arm, and tried to wipe her face off. She was relieved to see that it was only Schala. "Well? Any luck?"

A grin broke over Schala's face. "Yes! We found something good, and it wasn't hard to find!"

'Actually,' she realized, 'it was almost too easy to find.' But Schala kept the grin on her face.

.

"Zeal's advances stem from a new energy source. It's power surpasses that of the elements." - Anonymous


	2. The Beginning of the End

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 2**

**The Beginning Of The End**

By Nanaki

12,010 B.C.

"No, no, no!" Schala scolded. "Dreamstone here! Steel there!" She pointed. Once again, Schala found herself forced to supervise the construction of an energy gathering machine. Unfortunately, this one was not as efficient as the last. Schala guessed that it would need three mages to monitor it constantly while in operation. The way Melchior, Gaspar, and Belthasar were bumbling around, she was considering asking Zeal to make them the keepers. Only Melchior seemed to have any clue of what he was doing. She was also slightly crabby because tomorrow was her eighth birthday, but there was too much work to be done for anyone to take notice of her.

Zeal's plans for reraising Enhasa were on a much larger scale than anyone would have guessed. She had confided to Schala that she hoped to raise the entire central continent, and fill it up with other cities besides Enhasa. Schala had wanted to ask how she planned to do all this without Vigo, but she decided to wait until she saw for herself what kind of power this new energy provided. The reconstruction on Enhasa was well underway, and everyone who was going to recover had, except for Mune and Doreen. Masa was guessing that it took his kind a lot longer to heal than the residents of this planet. Mune and Doreen had been hurt pretty severely when Jade sliced their ship anyway.

It was pretty hard to keep track of what was going on. There was always a feeling of chaos right now. The city was so beat up, it was hard to tell where the ruins ended and the torn up ground began. Earthbound ones flowed freely up and down the sides of the plateau. Their children played on what parts of Serges' armor Dalton hadn't carted away, while their parents alternated between cowering in awe of the Enlightened ones, or yelling at people they used to know for leaving them on the ground for so long. And of course, the Nus were everywhere. They stayed out from underfoot mostly, but one would tumble out of a cupboard every once in a while, scolding whoever had woken it up. Through it all, Schala was slightly peeved that she had to be responsible and fairly in charge, while all the children, including the Nu children, were free from any and all responsibility until things got back to normal. The earthbound ones were hoping that they would get to rise with the new kingdom, but that was undecided right now.

Melchior wiped his brow. "Schala, it looks like we're going to need a few more Dreamstone pipes, as well as some compressed Dreamstone to use as inhibitors."

"Um... Okay, I'll just tell that to your underlings." Schala ran out of Melchior's workshop, heading for what was left of the storage area. As she was running out the door, she bumped into someone larger than her, and was knocked back onto the ground. "Hey! Watch it!"

"It was your own fault." A neutral voice replied. Squinting against the sun, Schala saw a boy about eight or nine years old. He looked down at the ground, surprised, then picked something up. "Here, you dropped this." He handed her the half melted Dreamstone pendant.

"Thanks, I guess." The boy turned and began to walk away. Schala slowly stood up. "Hey, wait! I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

He turned back reluctantly, as if he disliked interacting with other people. "Greven." Then he smiled slightly, as if he had just realized who she was. "Remember it." As he turned around a half destroyed corner, he turned back one last time. In the instant before he turned the corner, Schala saw a purple glint in his eyes.

"Holy!..." She started, giving several meanings to the word. So she hadn't imagined that second purple blast. "Hmm... I'll remember you all right, Greven." She considered running after him, but instead resumed running to the store room.

.

"And then three of those older boys said that Vigo was only going to rule because his father was the king, not because he was able to lead. Then Vigo cast one simple spell, and they all fell to the ground crying. One of 'em said that he could only win in a magic contest, so he teleported them all three miles from the cave entrance and challenged them to race back. He beat them all by a long shot."

Zeal laughed. "That sounds like him. He was always ready to prove himself. Never accepting help, even when he needed it..."

"Now don't be getting all teary eyed again." Karak said, concerned. "You loved him a lot, I know, but you've got to get on with your life. You've got a kingdom to rule now."

"You're right, but that doesn't stop me from missing him."

"Everyone misses him!" Karak said. "Even me. He was my best friend until the earthquake, and I guess he really did have an excuse then. From the people I've talked to, it looks like you and Schala really would have died if he hadn't stayed up here."

"That was a hellish day." Zeal said distastefully. "It took an awful lot for another day to replace that as the worst of my life."

"Even though you got Schala out of the deal?"

"Yes. No child is worth the trouble of childbirth. I imagine ordinary women have it bad enough. Do you have any idea how painful it is to squeeze something the size of a watermelon through an opening the size of a lemon? Now, give that watermelon immense magical powers, and you've got a recipe for disaster."

Karak started to laugh until he saw that Zeal hadn't intended to be funny. "I never looked at it in quite that light." He said, wiping a smirk off his face. "Our "earthbound" women seem to pop out new children all the time. I can hardly keep track of them all."

"Well start looking at it in that light. There may be some hope for you yet." Karak nodded and got up.

"So when are you planning to reraise this hunk of rock?"

"As soon as possible. In fact, we're having a meeting to discuss that in just a few minutes."

"Hmm. So how long am I supposed to stick around here anyway?"

"I... uh..." Zeal seemed to be making a difficult descision, although Karak had thought it was a pretty simple question. "Indefinitely." She finally smiled. "I may need you for some things." She left Karak with that puzzling remark as she strolled down the hall.

.

"Okay people, here are your orders!" Zeal glared imperiously at the advisors. "Melchior, I want you to take your construction crews and build two cities on the central continent. One should be similar to Enhasa, while the other will be a large fortress. Make them big enough to hold at least five times what our population was before the Weapon attack. After you're through with that, chain what's left of our old mountain to the ground. There's not room for two floating mountains in the sky. Belthasar, a while ago, you talked to Vigo about building a large flying machine. Do it. Gaspar, you will try to get these darn Nus out from underfoot, and carefully monitor who Spekkio gives magic to. We're not going to be holding some planetary free for all up there. Some of the Explorers should be looking for some small islands we can attach to the current Enhasa island while this is going on. Meanwhile, Schala and I will be trying to find out just exactly how we're going to do this. Now, are there any questions?" Nearly every hand in the room shot straight into the air. "Good. There should be. Now keep them to yourself and obey my orders! I know what I'm doing here. Needless to say, I want this all done as fast as possible."

As Zeal turned and left the room, she wondered if it had been wise to just order everyone around like that. But if she hadn't there would have been days of discussion about whether or not this was the right thing to do. This way, they would be skyward again in the least possible time. As she walked back down the hall, she wondered what she was going to name this new kingdom.

.

"After the king died, the queen nurtured magic, which has advanced the kingdom" - Anonymous


	3. Civil Unrest

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 3**

**Civil Unrest**

By Nanaki

12,009 B.C.

In the predawn stillness, two figures traversed the still-snowy landscape of the central continent. Their journey had taken weeks, but now the end was in sight. As they cleared an overhang on the mountainside, their target came into view. The newly completed Zeal Palace, as it had been nicknamed, was totally unguarded. The figure in front, who had a backpack mostly full of gunpowder, began to run forward, with the other following a second later.

They were soon in the shadow of the building itself. "Okay, start unloading." The first figure took off his backpack. The second nodded, and rummaged in his own pack for a tinder box. The first man opened his pack and began scattering the powder around the base of the wall.

"I can't believe we finally made it!" The second figure exclaimed. "After all these months, the Enlightened ones are finally going to get what they deserve!" The first man simply nodded from where he was pouring the powder.

"That's about all I've got, it's a pity we couldn't bring more."

"We had to eat something on the way here. But this will be worth it. Without this palace, the Enlightened ones will stay firmly on the ground."

"So, do you have the bomb?"

"Right here!" The second man gleefully drew out a silver ball about eight inches in diameter.

"It looks awfully small..."

"Greven said he pilfered it straight from Melchior's workshop. As much as I detest Melchior's politics right now, you have to admit the guy knows what he's doing. Greven said the notes indicated that this little thing can cause as much damage as a conventional bomb weighing over three tons."

"Let's set it up then." The two began digging under the wall, pausing every once in a while to look for sentries. They completed their work in a short time, and placed the bomb in the hole. The first man made one last trail of gunpowder going in, and then they both backed away. "Got the box ready? Okay, light it."

The second man produced a small flame and dropped it on the trail of gunpowder. The flame raced toward the bomb as they ran away. Eventually, they dived behind some scraggly shrubs, then turned to look. As the flame raced into the bomb's hole, a giant orange explosion started. Pieces of the wall flew away, but the explosion itself did not. As the men stared in dismay, the explosion turned blue, then abruptly reversed, becoming an implosion. It shrank back into the hole, causing no further damage. When they could see clearly, it was apparent that only a small portion of one wall had been destroyed. "No! They must have had some sort of magical shield on it!"

"Either that, or our double agent really isn't." Just then, there was a faint whirring noise. Whirling around, the two men saw Karak standing behind them.

"No, but your man, whoever he is, didn't know that Melchior designed these things to implode instead of explode if they were accidentaly detonated inside any Enhasan city."

"Well if it isn't our ex-leader." The first man sneered, ignoring Karak's comment.

"What do you mean? I still am your leader!" He shouted.

"That's a laugh and a half!" The second man shouted back. "You used to be, but now you're just Zeal's new boy toy!"

"You don't understand at all." Karak shook his head. "I have the chance to become the king of both our worlds! You may have just ruined that chance! Zeal's not going to be happy about this..." He trailed off, surveying the light damage.

"Screw off! We failed anyway." The first man said. They both turned to leave.

"Hold on a minute! Just where do you think you're going?"

"We're out of here! Just go running back to Zeal and tell her that a minor incident occurred. That's all this is going to amount to in the long run."

"Not in her eyes." The two men stared in amazement as Karak drew his sword. "By even attempting this, you two have signed your own death warrant."

"But sir!" The first man said, much more respectful now. "You wouldn't just cut down two of your own men, would you?"

"My men?" It was Karak's turn to sneer now. "Didn't you just say I was your EX-leader?" With that, Karak threw his sword. The blade went clear through the second man. With a slight gesture, the sword pulled out and returned to Karak's hand, blood and slivers of broken bone oozing off of it. The first man looked rapidly back and forth between Karak and his fallen comrade.

"Why are you doing this? You always said you hated Zeal!"

"Its not Zeal." Karak said grimly. "Its this new energy source she's discovered. There will be no Earthbound ones if we rebel. Nothing can stand against the power of Lavos, that is why I have to be on their side!" With that, Karak rushed forward, disembowling his former subject. The hapless man sank to his knees, holding his own intestines in his hands. Karak quickly struck his head off. Next, Karak cleaned off his sword in the snow, then summoned a meteor to incinerate the bodies. Karak sighed, then prepared his mind for a mental message. 'Attention all construction teams, there has been an unprovoked attack by the Earthbound ones-'

.

"-on the undefended Zeal palace?!" Zeal roared from her throne room in Enhasa. Her hands shook with rage as she shouted, "Messengers! Deliver this announcement to everyone!" The messengers nearby snapped to attention and saluted. "The Earthbound ones are hereby forbidden to enter Enhasa or any Enhasan city. All Enlightened ones living or visiting in Algetty are ordered back to Enhasa immediately. Spekkio is forbidden to give magic to anyone else. And finally, no people without magic will be allowed to rise with the new islands!"

One of the messengers stepped forward. "Your majesty, pardon me for saying so, but I beseech you to reconsider making such a rash decision."

Zeal tensed. "First of all, I will not pardon your saying so! And second-" A bolt of lightning energy flew from her fingertips, slamming the messenger into the far wall, where he lay, breathing shallowly. The other messengers hurried away to spread the news, and to get away from their suddenly hot-tempered queen. Zeal suddenly didn't feel well. Holding her head in her hands, she wondered what was happening to make her feel this way.

.

As the three volunteer mages lowered their concentration, the noise coming from the strange machine slowly whirred to a stop. Schala removed her protective goggles. "Another successful test run. This machine has functioned exactly as designed every time."

Melchior nodded. "I had my doubts at first, but now I'm sure that this machine will be able to provide all of our energy needs. Its a pity that we need three people to constantly maintain such rigid control over it."

One of the volunteers wiped his brow. "Yes sir. But if everyone in the kingdom takes a turn, it shouldn't be too draining on any one person."

"Ah, well you would know, having tested it. But how do you feel right now?"

"Very tired sir. This may be draining on everyone in the long run... I don't know. But right now, its looking pretty good."

"Very well then. We will immediately report to Queen Zeal that this machine is ready to operate. We will move it to where the Sun stone and the planet energy gatherer were being kept." Everyone nodded. "Now then, I suggest we all retire for a well deserved rest."

* * *

Violen: Oh no. It can't be...

Lavos: "Grumble" "Snort!"

Violen: What's disturbing him?

Lavos: "Skreeeeeeeeeee..."

Violen: His meditation levels are rising...

Lavos: "Snorf?"

Violen: He senses me? No, its something up above, on the surface.

Lavos: "Snorf!" "Kraah!"

Violen: 18, 17, 16... He's waking up fast!

Lavos: "Raaaaaaagh..."

Violen: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10... No, he's almost concious!

Lavos: Eeeeeeeeeeeee...

Violen: No! Back to sleep!

Lavos:Bluuuuuuuaauauaughahauauaughghauauauhahahaaughguagbluaaaaaaaaaaauauaughughahhahaaughahahahaughahhuaghaughiscrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeaughaughhahahahaaughskreeawwwwwwwwwwhahahahahablurururururuurbleooooooooooskreeeeeeeoooooooooooo...

Violen: That was too close. Way too close. I wish Serges was here...

.

"There will come a time when the voices of soil and seedling will sing only laments" - Oracle en-Vec

(Nanaki's note: Yes, folks, you can say you saw it here first! The TEXT equivalent of the Lavos noise! One of my most embarrasing moments in all the stories I've written! I hope you enjoyed it.)


	4. Reascension

**The Aftermath of Mount Woe Chapter 4**

**Reascension**

By Nanaki

12,009 B.C.

"Everything is in order then? Good. Tell Melchior to begin the warm up phase." Zeal said curtly. The messenger nodded an ran out of the room. Zeal had been feeling better lately, and had apologized to the messenger she waylaid earlier. He was keeping his distance from her though. She had not retracted her harsh order, because that would send a sign to the populace that the ruler of the kingdom was not sure of herself. She could not have that going around. She had discovered that her flares of temper only occurred when the machine was activated. That was a very odd phenomenon, but until there was more evidence, she would assume it was just coincidence.

She ran through the checklist in her head. They would reraise Enhasa first, then attach the suitable land masses the Explorers had located to it, then proceed to raise the central continent. Of course, ocean levels all over the world would drop drastically, but that was just the price to be paid. Melchior's teams on the Mountain of Woe were having a little trouble with the Gaia that was still prowling around, but since it appeared to be dumb and sleepy, there had been no casualties so far. The final chains were almost in place. 'Good.' She thought. 'Once En- no, Mount Woe is firmly fixed to the ground, I can leave everything from my old life behind. There's plenty to do, and I've got to get on with it. I can't dwell on the past.' She made herself believe the tripe her public mind thought, but deep down, she knew she was trying to get rid of all reminders of Vigo because he would be spinning in his grave if he knew some of the things that were going on. Karak seemed to feel the weight of Vigo's lingering presence even moreso than she. She would be glad when she could get him out of Enhasa, and into one of the new cities.

"Your majesty!" A shout rang out. Spinning around, Zeal saw a black portal opening.

'This is new.' She thought, slightly amused.

Dalton materialized out of the portal, dragging a stone-faced boy behind him. "I've found the leak to the Enlightened ones!"

"You have?!" Zeal's face lit up. "This is excellent news. Where is the traitor?"

"Right here."

"You mean, this boy?"

"Yes. It turns out he was just about the first one Spekkio gave magic to. He is extremely loyal to the Earthbound ones, as none of his family are Enlightened."

Zeal frowned. "No family here? There's no guiding force, to teach him how to use his powers?"

"Your majesty, I would respectfully suggest that you put an end to his miserable life as soon as possible. He can only bring you trouble in the long run."

"Excuse me!" The boy shouted. "Don't I have any say in this?"

"Hold your tongue before the queen!" Dalton shouted, dealing the boy a blow that sent him sprawling.

'What's gotten into Dalton?' Zeal wondered. 'As I recall, he was never horribly obedient to Vigo.' "Hold Dalton!" She said out loud. "Let him speak."

"Thank you." The boy said simply, pointedly not adding "your majesty" to his sentence. "My name is Greven Vecar. I was born in New Allegan, and have resided in Algetty most of my life. I see no reason to live up here. I did not request these powers, nor do I deserve them. The reason I helped my fellow Earthbound ones with the bombing plans was because I, like them, was greatly concerned about rumors that the Earthbound ones would not get to rise with the new kingdom. Rumors that have since been proven true."

Zeal frowned. "Damn. There's reason in his argument."

"You're not going to kill him?" Dalton whined.

Suddenly, a red light flashed in Zeal's eyes. Even though she was sure there was no background noise in the room, she heard a low whirring noise start up. "I didn't say that." She snapped angrily.

Greven, sensing that his well phrased, overly respectful, and somewhat convincing argument hadn't worked, gave up all hope of getting away. "Oh, you can both go to hell. Ever since King Vigo died, the whole world has been going straight down the crapper. Go ahead and kill me then, it makes no difference in the long run."

"How dare you speak of Vigo?!" Zeal roared. "Dalton, you're getting your wish!" Zeal's hands began to take on a red glow, and Dalton grinned sadistically. Greven made no attempt to defend himself. Just as Zeal was ready to unleash her spell, Schala appeared at the door.

"Stop!" Dalton was unsure of what to do for the moment, which probably saved Greven's life. It was too late for Zeal to stop the spell, so instinctively, Schala reached into her robes and threw something forward to stop it. The object turned out to be the pendant. It absorbed all of the power in the blast, and clattered to the floor, full of energy. They all stared transfixed, as the energy seeped outward along the chain, rebuilding the melted parts as it went. When the odd reaction was through, the pendant was whole again, and glowed a dull red.

"Schala, you really shouldn't have interrupted..." Zeal began. "Anyway, what did you come to tell me?"

"The machine is all ready to go. There's no reason why we can't begin now."

A grin spread across Zeal's face. "Well then, let's get skyward! Come along Dalton." Zeal got off of her throne and walked over to where Dalton's portal had appeared. He quickly followed and activated it, and they both vanished into the darkness.

"That's it?!" Greven screamed. "After they were about to kill me, they just drop it and leave?"

"I guess so." Schala said, gazing into the fiery heart of the pendant. "But if I were you, I'd try to keep out of her sight as much as possible."

"Well, thanks for saving me." Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath their feet. "Whoah! What does that mean?"

"It means..." Schala began to smile, "..we're movin' on up!" Greven frowned. "Listen. I've got to go. I would suggest that you find a good place to hide for a few years." Greven nodded and ran out of the room. Schala sighed and teleported herself away.

.

As Schala appeared in the room, the three control mages and Zeal were already concentrating deeply. Gaspar was staring at the odd glow. "Hmm... This energy flux is unlike anything I have ever seen."

"Isn't it supposed to be?" Schala was slightly puzzled.

"Shh! Let them concentrate!" Melchior said. Gaspar and Schala obediently quieted down. With a final rumble, the plateau lifted clear of the ground, and rushed back up into the sky. "You just can't keep a good kingdom down." Melchior grinned. Schala giggled.

"Why was that funny?" Gaspar scratched his head. Schala just shook her head at him.

Now that they were rising throught the cloud layer, cold winds blew through the chamber. Zeal and the three mages were impervious to this. Despite the freezing wind, Schala could feel none of... that kind of wind that made her bone marrow want to freeze and shatter. She relaxed a little, letting herself enjoy the ride up.

This time, the journey passed without incident. Once they reached a sufficient altitude, their ascent slowed to a stop. Schala looked out the windows and breathed deeply, immediately readjusting to the surroundings she had known all her life. Zeal seemed to come out of her trance. "Belthasar?" She questioned the empty air.

"He's still working on the... uh... the "Blackbird," I believe he called it." Melchior said.

"Drat! Oh well, its really just a minor inconvenience." Zeal resumed her concentration.

"Mother, what are you doing? Aren't we done?" Schala began to get worried.

"Oh no Schala, far from it!" Zeal grinned, then resumed her concentration.

Schala didn't want to be in the room anymore, so she turned and ran outside. She smiled a little as she heard Gaspar exclaim, "can't keep a good kingdom down! I get it! That's hilarious!" But then her blood froze as she leaned over the edge of the plateau, trying to get a look at the land below through the clouds. Instead, land was rising up toward her. Many small islands, dripping with seawater, rose up to their level and hovered near the plateau. Suddenly, they seemed to break apart and reform, their shape altering perfectly to match the sides of Enhasa. Then, with a tooth rattling shudder, the fused to Enhasa, drastically increasing the size of the island. Schala felt a different wind begin to blow. Shouts came from the direction of the machine.

"No, your majesty! It isn't time yet! We're not ready! The control mages..." As the voices drifted off, Schala heard a huge cracking sound. It must surely have been audible all over the planet, it was so deep and intense. The wind she had been feeling went up from a breeze to a roaring gale, screaming in her ears. The cracking sound grew louder and louder, until with one deafening roar, it ended. Then came the sound of rushing water, impossibly loud. Schala really wished she could see below the cloud level. Then there was silence. A few minutes later, a gleaming new fortress came into view, dragging a mountain behind it. The black wind, which had just been a breeze before, was screaming now, threatening to freeze her soul and shatter it into a million pieces. Soon the mountain, which was even larger than Enhasa had been, flattened out into a large plain. Another gleaming structure had been built down below, but Schala could barely make out the details, it was so close to the horizon. As the land mass drew closer to their location, she lost sight of it all together. Nearer to her, she could see an odd lump that had to be the Blackbird. She was sure that, if she could see their faces, the workers would look very scared and angry.

"Sweet mother of all that is good and pure." She finally whispered. The black wind subsided from a scream to a dull roar. It rose in pitch slightly as another island appeared to the north of Enhasa. She was surprised to see a blue pyramidal structure in the middle of it. Schala guessed that the central continent's other main island was rising on the west side, but she couldn't see it from here. Suddenly, a large shape smashed down onto the Enhasa island from out of nowhere, and Karak materialized at the same time.

"What's going on?!" Violen demanded. "The planet is screaming bloody murder down there!" She turned her gaze outward, taking in the awesome sight. Violen tightened her fist. "Technically, I guess you didn't use any energy, but that hurt a lot!" Schala took a precautionary step backward, surprised by Violen's anger. Karak ignored the Weapon.

"Zeal did all of this by herself?" He asked eagerly. Now Schala looked at him funny.

"Yes, with that new energy source we discovered." Schala frowned. Then she said to herself, 'Yes, that was way, waaaaaaaay too easy. A feat like this should have taken four mages as powerful as dad, with a Sun stone for each one! We're not getting this energy for free... I just wonder what the price is going to be, when the time comes.'

"What power!" Karak exclaimed, a hungry look in his eyes. Schala immediately put him on her mental beware/dislike list. "The power of Lavos is unbelievable!" Then he ran off to the room where Zeal was still standing.

"Lavos?" Schala wondered out loud.

"An old word meaning "great fire." Violen explained offhand. "This is really not good. Tearing a gash in the planet like this... and you do realize, if anything ever happens to all three of those control mages at once, everything here will drop like a stone. And if something this big falls on land, it will destroy all life on the planet. I should force you to land right now."

"We'll keep over the deep ocean." Schala said, sensing a need to prevent a conflict right now. She saw Zeal was stepping out into the sunlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have just witnessed the birth of the greatest civilization in the history of mankind! With this new power, no petty rivals, no monsters, no Weapons-" Violen snorted involuntarily, "-can stand in our way! We have discovered the ultimate energy source, as you can all see! I give you all..." Zeal paused for dramatic effect, "the Kingdom of Zeal!! Now, we are immediately moving this equipment to the Zeal Palace. Be ready for teleportation in five minutes." There were disturbed murmurs pretty much all around, before cheers rang out. Through the throng of people now surrounding her, Schala saw Karak run up, hug Zeal, and kiss her on the cheek. She felt a burning hatred rise up in her heart, towards both of them.

"Such arrogance..." Violen hissed.

Schala's rage dissipated as suddenly as it had begun. "Its funny. Even though this is exactly what dad would have wanted, I feel like she's forgotten what he died for." Violen just nodded in agreement. Schala stared at her toes. "Well then, I guess I'll gather my things, and prepare for our move to the Zeal Palace."

.

"Those who fail to learn the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat it." - A lot of wise people


	5. A Critical Decision

**The Aftermath of Mount Woe Chapter 5**

**A Critical Decision**

By Nanaki

12,006 B.C.

"Your majesty, are you all right?" A servant nervously banged on the door to the royal bedroom.

"I'm fine. I just wish to sleep in a little longer." Zeal replied through a strained voice.

"But, the sun is already high in the sky."

"Leave me alone!" Zeal ordered imperiously. Actually, she had failed to rise yet because she felt that, if she did, last night's dinner would end up on the floor. Zeal hadn't felt this sick in a long time. In fact, she hadn't felt sick at all since they had discovered Lavos. 'What can be the problem?' She wondered to herself for the millionth time. Feeling frustrated, she slammed her fist down on the sheets. The action tipped her forward slightly, and she found herself being sick over the edge of the bed. "Damn." She said out loud. "What can be going on here?" 'It almost feels like not all of my body is... my... own. No, that's impossible.' She tried to reassure herself. 'Its just odd being sick again after all this time.'

However, she was not so sure when she felt all right just fifteen minutes later. In fact, she felt as fit as when she- "Oh god, I'm sorry Vigo." She covered her face with her hands. Getting out of bed, she immediately vaporised the mess on the floor with a small fire spell. No point in letting the maids see that. Slipping into her clothes, she leaned out the door. Instantly, a servant sprang to attention. "Please cancel all my previously scheduled meetings for the day." The servant nodded and ran off. Zeal sighed weakly and stepped out the door. Despite the fact that she wasn't even sure of it herself, she had to go warn the father.

.

"You're pregnant?!" Karak asked incredulously. "No way! Its not possible! Well, okay, it is, but it just seems impossible that we..."

"I know, I know." Zeal felt a headache coming on. "I can't believe it either. I mean, Schala's old enough to get pregnant, for God's sake! But the morning sickness doesn't lie."

Karak smiled. "Wow. Now we can finally have an excuse to get married! The people won't object when they hear this. They're not going to hold me in too high esteem, I know, but..."

Zeal managed to set up a light smile on her face too, even though she was far from happy. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Karak looked dismayed for a second, but then his smile came back. "Oh well, even if you still won't get married again, now there's some gossip fuel for the maids, I'll finally have a kid of my own! I was starting to think it would never happen. None of the Earthbound women ever stayed with me for long enough, I don't know why-"

"Its 'cause you're too damn rough sometimes." Zeal mumbled.

"Huh?" Karak looked back at her.

"Nothing, nothing." She sighed. "Karak, to be perfectly frank, I don't know if I want to have this kid."

"What?" He gulped. "Oh, come on now! You can't assume it'll be like-"

"Don't you remember what I told you three years ago? No child is worth..."

"..the trouble of childbirth. I know what you said. But I didn't think you would just... abort."

"For you, I'll consider it." She frowned. "But don't set your hopes too high." Seeing the ashen look on his face, she stepped forward and embraced him.

'Yes!' He thought. 'She's weakening! I never expected her to give in so easily. My chance to attain the throne of Zeal kingdom is in sight!'

Zeal pulled back immediately. "What the hell was that?"

Karak jumped back apprehensively. "What?" Zeal clearly heard him think, 'No one ever told me she was telepathic!'

"So that's all you were thinking this whole time? First you would try to get me to fall in love with you, and if that didn't work, you would knock me up and see what happened?!"

"No, no! Of course not! You were all that I ever thought about!" 'Oh no, she's on to me!'

Zeal's face contorted in rage. "If you're going to succeed in lying to me outright, I would suggest that you stop broadcasting your thoughts so clearly!"

"Zeal, you've gotta believe me!" 'How the hell am I gonna get out of this?'

"All this time, all you cared about was power." She said in an icy voice. "Well, I'll show you power!" Zeal's right hand took on a red glow.

"Zeal, what are you doing?! You can't be serious!"

"I'm finishing the job Vigo started twelve years ago!" She shouted. An extremely sharp icicle flew forward, impaling Karak in a manner similar to when he had killed the two Earthbound men. It immediately burst into flame once inside him. From there, lightning coursed through his body, and finally a wave of Shadow energy washed over him. As he collapsed to the ground, a black portal opened behind him, sucking what was left inside.

Zeal was surprised to find a tear in her eye. 'That does it, no one is ever getting close to me again. I've only let it happen twice. Once, it was worth it. Once, it wasn't. In both cases, they died and left me to raise a kid by myself.' "Damn you both!!" Zeal screamed to the air. 'I don't want another kid! I would rather die right now than...' Zeal looked at her hands, where a few wisps of energy still danced between her fingers. 'Die right now...'

She immediately placed her hands on her midsection, and began to concentrate again. A low hum filled the hall, and her hands pulsed with a red light. Suddenly, her tightly squeezed eyes jerked open again. "That's the first time I've ever killed someone!" She gasped. As she sank to the floor, the huge blast of energy she had been preparing ripped into and through the outer wall, shooting out into the sky. The gold gleam of that section of wall shifted to a dull brown. "Except for Serges, but he doesn't count." She slowly stood again, looking out the hole. "But, bastard that he was, Karak did count." She looked down at her midsection. It was still flat now, but she could practically feel the bulge already. "I guess evil and sin doesn't die so easily. Well kid, whatever pain you put me through, I guess I deserve it, after that." Zeal took one last look out the hole, and walked away.

After turning a corner, Zeal nearly ran into Melchior. "Oh, I'm sorry your majesty. Have you seen Karak? I have some weapon designs I'd like to discuss with him."

Melchior was surprised at the odd look that came into Zeal's eyes. "No. I don't think I've truly seen him in a long time." Then, she continued down the hall.

Melchior scratched his head. As he walked around the corner, he was amazed to see a huge gap in the wall, and scorch marks on the ground. "What the hell? Sound the alert! Look for a possible intruder in the west wing! There's been a breach in the wall!" As the sound of many feet rushed to answer his call, he was pretty sure they wouldn't find anyone at all.

.

"I'll just tell the emperor I had to exterminate a traitor!" - Kefka

Nanaki: I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some e-mails about this one. I originally didn't plan to make the chapter quite this intense, but this is just the way it turned out. You'll notice the characters use more slang and profanity than normal when speaking, but this isn't the kind of subject where everyone says please and thank you. So if I've offended anyone (I'm looking at you, Dark Magus!) I apologize profusely. Now stay tuned for Chapter 25: A Meeting of Minds!

(Nanaki's note: Once again, the above note is from when the story first came out, 1998 in this case. After some of the things I've read at FFN, I seriously doubt that I'll get any e-mails about the "intensity" of this chapter. As always though, do feel free to e-mail me.)


	6. A Meeting of Minds

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 6**

**A Meeting Of Minds**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

"...and that's how Vigo saved all of us here today from being destroyed by the Weapons." Schala smiled down at Janus, satisfied with her storytelling abilities. He seemed to think over the story for a few moments.

"But Dalton said that he didn't actually kill any of 'em except Shivan, and that Violen was the one who really killed Serges." Janus protested, unwilling to accept this new information without examining all sides of the story.

"Dalton is full of..." Schala trailed off. "That's technically correct, but without Vigo, we never would have stood any chance against them."

"As long as we're going with technical correctness, isn't it also true that Enhasa never would've been raised off the ground without him? And doesn't that mean the Weapons never would've been summoned?"

"Maybe..." Schala seemed to drift off. "Maybe. But then, I wouldn't be here to argue the point with you."

"Well, whatever anyone says, it sounds like he was pretty powerful. I would have liked to have met him." After a few more moments of silence, Janus burst out, "Wait! What do you mean you wouldn't be here to argue with me? I wouldn't be here either would I? I mean, no one is willing to tell me why, but they all assure me that I wouldn't be here without a father."

"Janus, Vigo wasn't your father." Immediately after she said it, Schala cringed for openly disobeying Zeal's orders.

"What?! But everyone says I'm of royal blood. Doesn't that automatically make Vigo my father?"

"You're of royal Zealian blood yes. As far as Alleganian blood goes, politically yes, but from actual bloodlines, no." Schala sighed at Janus' confused look. "Look, you weren't born until over four years after he died."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Human gestation only takes..." Schala trailed off as she realized that Janus was a little too young for a lesson on this subject, nor was she the proper teacher. "Never mind. I wish you could have met him too."

"So why don't all of us ever go over to Enhasa?" Janus asked innocently.

Schala thought for a minute. "I really don't know."

"So why don't you go over there today, and see if there's any problem with all of us going?"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why, are you afraid of what you'll find? Are you afraid you'll get in trouble? Or is it both?"

Schala sighed and smiled at the same time. For a four year old, Janus was amazingly insightful. "All right, I'll see what I can do. Now you better hurry down to the kitchens. They'll be done with lunch soon, and you haven't eaten a thing yet." Janus nodded and turned to leave. When he had reached the door, Schala noticed a large and unpleasant bruise on his right arm. "Well, well. How did you manage to acquire that?" She asked, pointing to the angry purple flesh.

"Oh that." Janus tried to dissemble, but the words wouldn't come. He decided to go with the truth. "Yesterday, some guys were standing around talking, and I heard one of 'em call you something that sounded like a "voluptuous vamp." I kicked him in the shin, and he punched me back before he saw who I was." Schala stifled a laugh. "What?"

"Oh Janus, I'm pretty sure that was a good thing!" 'That's the understatement of the year.' She thought to herself.

"Oh. So I should ask questions first, maul later?"

"Yes, you might want to consider doing that." She smiled, then guided him out the door.

.

Schala concentrated deeply, invoking the summon spell that Violen had taught her. In a flash of green and purple light, the Weapon appeared on the mountain, right below the gates to the Zeal Palace where Schala was standing. She rubbed her head tiredly. "It figures. As soon as you're asleep, the planet screams..." then she looked up, "..or you're summoned away by a spoiled young princess. What's the trouble Schala?"

"I need to go over to Enhasa. Trouble is, I don't know if they'll be too friendly, seeing as its been so long since we were there last. Also, the residents may have made some modifications, so I won't have a clear image to teleport to."

"Uh huh. And what's the real reason?"

"You're much more fun than teleporting." Schala smiled.

"Ack! Such arrogance! I come all the way up here only to find that I'm supposed to be your vehicle for the day. Very well. Let's get going." Violen made an odd gesture, and a fierce wind blew them straight off the mountain, on a direct course for Enhasa island.

"So how is Lavos keeping busy?" Schala asked, half joking, half serious.

"He's still deep asleep, thank goodness." Schala said no more, but just relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

A little over an hour later, Schala was slammed roughly into the ground at Enhasa. "Hey, watch it will you?!"

"Sorry." Violen said, not really paying attention. "I keep forgetting what delicate little creatures you humans are. So do you want me to go on ahead?"

"No. I think its better that I go on alone. I'll call you back if I need you for anything."

Violen groaned under her mock burden. "Oh, I'm sure you will." With that, she departed. Schala picked herself up, dusted the dirt off, and walked the short distance to the entrance. Once she was close enough to see inside, she observed that everyone seemed to be in a panic. People were running everywhere, putting books on shelves roughly, so that as soon as they turned around, the books flew right off again. Suddenly, there was a large crash, and a cloud of dust blocked her view. Out of all the chaos, a boy who looked to be about twelve emerged, smiling a crooked grin, and eyes sparkling with amusement and intelligence.

"Hello Miss Schala. I'm sorry for the dreadful mess, but when I told everyone I saw you coming, they kind of went ballistic... in a good way." He added, seeing her apprehensive expression. "I'm Ertai Vecar. Its an honor to meet you."

"Hello Ertai. What do you mean you saw me coming? And I didn't think meeting me would be that big a deal for everyone..." While inside she thought, 'This guy's cute, and smart. Too bad he's not a few years older.'

Ertai shrugged. "Well, Violen is kind of hard to miss, you know. I could see her coming when you were still miles away." Then, his voice switched tones slightly. "And if you really feel that way, you should meet my older brother." Schala's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. Ertai grinned and pointed to his temple. "I'm a telepath Schala. It comes with the territory." His mind continued on his train of thought. 'And coming from you, that was high praise indeed.'

Ertai rubbed his shin, as if it was paining him.

Schala was surprised again. "You wouldn't have happened to be in the Zeal Palace recently, would you?"

It was hard to glean anything from his lopsided grin. "Not to my recollection."

"So you don't know of anyone who visits the palace so infrequently my brother wouldn't know who he was and refers to me as a voluptuous vamp, do you?"

Ertai blushed. "Fine. If you must have the truth of it, I'm telekinetic too."

Schala ignored her princessly duties for the moment, and played the part of the teenager she was. Looking at the mess being created inside, she wondered, "How would I know your brother if I saw him?"

Erati resumed eye contact. "Well, look for someone who looks a lot like me, except he has a square chin, is pretty tall, and walks like he's had sex."

Schala laughed. "You can't fake that walk!"

Ertai grinned again. "Tell me about it. I tried once, but I just fell down." They both found this immensely funny, and erupted into laughter.

As Schala wiped the tears away she asked, "So has he really?"

"Oh yeah." Ertai got serious. "He goes down to the Earthbound village all the time. From what he says, there's not much else to do down there..." It was obvious from his expression that he wished he could go.

"So why is he down there so much? It isn't that big of an incentive, is it?"

"It would be for me." Ertai said seriously. Then he looked up, surprised. "Why? You never have?"

"No." 'There's no one worth it...'

"Well that makes me feel better."

"But really, there has to be another reason."

"Well, we were both born down there. The thing is, he was nine when we were trapped up here. I was only three or four, so I hardly remember home."

'Trapped up here. That's certainly a new way of looking at it.' "Doesn't he get in trouble for it? Or is he really good at teleporting away fast?"

"He can't teleport at all. He always has someone else send him down there. There's always a danger of being caught, so he has someone different send him each time. He always tries to stay down there permanently, but somebody who has to be hugely powerful always sends him back up. I guess they don't want him to get in trouble." An understanding look came to his face so fast Schala could almost see a lantern coming on in his head. "Say, it isn't you, is it?"

"Sorry." Schala shook her head. "I don't even know who he is. Its probably one of the Gurus."

Ertai smiled. "I can't believe that actually caught on."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one who started calling the old geezers "Gurus." I can't believe people are still using the names." Ertai peeked back at the entrance. "Hmm... Looks like the chaos is dying down. Do you want to go in?"

"Sure. I've been wondering what you people have done to my old room..." She was interrupted as a white beam of energy shot up beyond the edge of the island. It immediately arced back down and slammed into the roof of Enhasa. "What was that?"

A puzzled look crossed Ertai's face. "He's back. But... ..it seems his anonymous benefactor is none too pleased with him at the moment." Both were curious about this new development, so they hurried inside. Ertai gestured for Schala to go ahead of him, and two of his friends ran up behind him, whispering in hushed tones.

"Uh, Ertai?" Schala called. "There's nobody unusual here." Everyone in the vicinity was dressed in typical Zealian clothes.

"Oh, forgive my oversight." Ertai ran forward as his friends snickered behind him. "He prefers to inhabit the Guru of Reason's secret room. Half of the people here know about it, but your mother doesn't. I don't think you'll tell on us though."

"I've got no reason to." Schala shrugged, effecting indifference.

"All right then." Ertai rushed around, opening spellbooks seemingly at random. All of a sudden, one of the bookshelves slid away, revealing a gaping doorway. As Ertai ran up, Schala could see a dark figure inside. It wasn't due to poor lighting either. He was dressed all in black armor, and was much more tanned than most Enlightened ones. Particles of white energy were still streaming out of the armor, but he paid no attention. He was flipping through a book, turning the pages tenderly, as if his large arms would tear it to shreds if he was any rougher.

'I could be crushed by arms like those and not mind.' Schala couldn't help but smile. Another part of her seemed to scream, 'Whoah girl! When did I start thinking like that?' Schala was glad that Ertai had politely closed his receiving telepathic channels.

"Hey brother." Ertai called, with less enthusiasm than earlier, Schala noticed.

"Not exactly a good time Ertai." He called back, flipping pages faster. "I was finally able to resist the teleportation today- I have no idea how- but apparently they have more than one way to drag me from home."

"Why do you put up such a fight? You know you'll be able to go back the next day. Why don't you just submit to spending the night up here?"

An angry look crossed his face. "What makes you say that? You know I've never wanted anything to do with these people. Except for that one lapse, and I've been paying for it the rest of my life. You sound like you've been talking to- hello!" He stopped as he finally looked up and saw Schala. "Talking to the Zealian princess. That explains a lot."

"Well hello to you too." Schala said, her smile disappearing.

"Well 'scuse my bitterness, but I've got reasons. You probably have no idea who I am, do you?"

Schala gulped, sensing she was being put through a test. 'Okay, that should indicate I've met this guy before. Let's see, fiercely independent, a neutral to surly expression and disposition, a tendency to dress in black...' Her smile returned. "Why hello, Greven Vecar."

Greven gaped. "Well, well." Ertai grinned like an idiot. As soon as she said the name, Schala felt an odd sensation.

'Is it possible there's such a thing as white wind?' She wondered.

Greven looked at Ertai accusingly. "You..."

"I never mentioned you by name. I mentioned our last name, but that was it."

Greven glowered angrily. "Hunh. Then you're a bit better than most. But I've got nothing to say to you."

"What?" Schala exclaimed. "You won't even give me a chance? You don't even know why I'm here!"

"You can stay! I'm the one who needs to leave!" He erupted. "All these Enlightened ones preach about how lucky I am to live above the clouds. Then they boss me around like I'm dirt, because I was once an Earthbound one, even though I've mastered my magic better than anyone here."

An understanding look came to Schala's face. "So you're mad because all these people give you trouble for having been an Earthbound one, when you think you're better than all of them."

"I don't think, I know."

"You think you could beat me?" Schala asked, a dangerous glint in her eye. As soon as she spoke, a purple flame leapt up from her finger.

"Of course!" Greven waved her aside. She assumed a battle stance. "You're really serious huh? Well, if you insist..."

"Uh, Greven... I really don't think defeating the princess will keep the queen's attention off of you." Ertai warned him.

"He won't defeat me, so don't worry about it." Schala grinned rather wickedly.

"You are either very confident, or very foolish." Schala grew a little worried as she saw a smile creep onto Greven's face. "We shall soon find out which!"

Schala nodded, throwing off her royal robes. Then, the eyes of the watching boys widened with hope as she also threw off her dress underneath. When the dress fluttered to the ground, everyone could see that she was wearing tight pants and a tank top underneath. A collective sigh was heard. "Sorry boys." She winked at the doorway. "Maybe in a few years, when I'm not so self-concious." Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something rushing toward her. She jumped out of the way just as a large purple blast slammed into the wall.

"Dirty pool!" Ertai cried.

"She shouldn't be stopping to show off!" Greven responded.

Ertai smiled. "Actually, that was a pretty clumsy blast." He said, turning to the boys behind him. "That was a smart move. She put him at a psychological disadvantage. That is, she's hoping he'll be less willing to beat up a pretty girl."

This whole time, Schala's mind had been reeling. 'He used holy! I forgot about that! Holy, my goodness. It just seems so weird.' As she was thinking, she dodged two more blasts.

"That's it! I'm done playing around!" Greven grinned like a maniac. He floated in the air for a second, then a large purple explosion engulfed the half of the room Schala was in. Tables and chairs went flying, but he didn't seem to care. As she was thrown into the wall, Schala guessed this wasn't the first time he had fought someone in here. Schala finally fired a returning blast, which Greven parried easily with more of his energy. "Ha! As I thought, your skills are pathetic." Greven began to gather more energy. Suddenly, he backed up a step as Schala began to grin. Then, three distinct beams of energy raced toward him, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. Greven struggled to fend off all three, only to be nailed in the back of the head by the fourth blast that he hadn't even seen coming. He toppled forward, only to be nailed in the stomach by a full force beam of power, which smashed him into the wall.

Growling, Greven leapt forward almost faster than the eye could follow, his arm pulled back in preparation for the strike. A split second later, there was no movement in the area, as everyone was frozen by the sight of the Dreamstone dagger pointed at Greven's neck. "Let's keep this contest magical, hmm?" Schala asked dangerously. Greven gulped and nodded imperceptably. No one had seen the dagger hidden underneath Schala's near skin tight pants. Apparently, "near" was the key word. The opponents backflipped away from each other, then resumed their spell hurling.

Neither could gain a clear advantage, until Greven realized he might actually lose. The thought angered him so much that he put all his remaining energy into one series of spells. An explosion under Schala's feet sent her flying into the air. A series of energy arcs carried her upward, pounding her into the ceiling. They stopped suddenly, and she fell over ten feet to the floor, where she landed face down, and lay still.

Ertai stepped back into the room. "That was over the line Greven. I think you really hurt her!"

Greven ran forward and leaned over her. "I guess so. I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking." He felt her for a pulse, and when he detected that, he was relieved to see that no blood was flowing out from her head. He lifted her head up by her hair to make sure she was okay. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and she quickly grabbed his arm.

"Don't mess with my hair, or you're really be sorry!"

"Look Schala, I'm sorry I..." Greven trailed off and his eyes opened wide. His grip on her hair loosened as Schala's grip on his arm increased. Somehow, she flipped up from her position on the floor, managing to kick Greven in the stomach as she did so. She used the momentum from that to rebound off the wall. Then amazingly, she began to spin around in midair, and a tornado like funnel surrounded her. Greven's jaw dropped just before her feet connected with his chest, sweeping him into the funnel as well. It spun vertically around the room, rotating wildly, before finally smashing through the roof of the secret room, and carrying them both outside.

Ertai and his friends rushed outside in time to see the funnel smash into the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust. When it cleared, they saw Schala standing tiredly, breathing heavily. As the dust drifted away, she stretched her hand out to help her opponent out of the Greven-shaped crater, but he was unconcious. "Nice try." She grinned, tossing her hair like the type of arrogant person she definitely was not. Ertai ran up to her.

"I'm so sorry about all this! He gets carried away sometimes, but I never thought he would do this! I'm sorry I introduced you two."

"Are you kidding? I had a blast! It was nice to let myself go, and not act the part of a proper princess."

Suddenly, a mental shout cut through the area that was so loud every telepath heard it. 'Schala!! What the hell are you doing?! Get back over here NOW!! There's important news!'

"Oops." Schala smiled weakly, rubbing her temple. "Guess that my cue to skee-do." A white flash came from her hand, and suddenly all her clothes were just where they had been, as though nothing at all had happened. She waved goodbye to the gathered crowd, then teleported back to the Zeal Palace.

Greven began to stir in his crater. The crowd drifted away, afraid of his temper. Ertai, who knew him better, walked right up. "Unh... Is she gone?" Greven groaned.

"Yep. Guess her mother found out where she was."

"Where did she learn that wind magic? I thought that holy was all she knew."

"Just cause its all you know..." Ertai teased. A few moments passed in silence. Then Ertai decided to plunge ahead into dangerous territory. "You like her, don't you?"

"Of course!" Greven was always brutally honest, and he never evaded a question. "She's not a hypocrite like nearly everyone else here. And boy, what power!"

"Hmm... Then why did you try to smash her face in? Twice?! If that's your way of expressing affection, I wish you hated me!" Ertai said, rubbing his shin. "First, you nearly break my leg, and then Prince Janus tries to complete the job."

"Think we'll be seeing more of her?" Greven asked, standing up.

"Of course! After a swell experience like this," Ertai stretched out his hand to show the damage their battle had caused, "I don't see how she can resist!"

.

"Are you kidding? That's the most fun I've had in months! And I found some great new friends too!" - Nadia


	7. Mammon Machines and Golem Dreams

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 7**

**Mammon Machines And Golem Dreams**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala teleported directly to Zeal's throne room, prepared for a stern tongue lashing. Instead, Zeal acted like she had never realized Schala was gone. "Schala, I've made an important decision." Schala groaned inwardly. "We've lived with that inefficient machine of yours and the Gurus' long enough. We have eight years' worth of research on Lavos' energy. Now its time to put our knowledge to good use. We need to build truly masterful energy gathering machine. Behold..." Zeal pulled out a piece of paper from behind her throne and unrolled it. "The preliminary plans for the Mammon Machine! You are the first person to see it. Since you and the Gurus designed our other two machines, I'm hoping you four will be able to construct this one as well." Schala scanned the blueprints with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The machine reeked of just plain evil. For some sick reason of Zeal's, it was humanoid in shape, and bore a resemblence to Serges. "I see you've noticed it's Weaponistic design." Zeal smiled. "I t

hought it would be a good symbol of our kingdom, showing both what nearly destroyed us and what allowed us to discover... Lavos!" She said the name with reverence.

"I'm thrilled, to be sure." Schala said in a droll voice. "But I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to bed."

"Of course dear." Zeal smiled. "I'm sure you'll be more enthusiastic in the morning." She didn't take her eyes off of the blueprint. Schala shivered as she left the throne room. There was certainly no white wind in the Zeal Palace.

.

Schala woke up as the sun was just beginning to drift in her window. She was aware that her door was opening slowly. Suddenly, she convulsed involuntarily as a little brother landed on her lap. "Ow! Watch it Janus, I'm a little sore there.

She could see Janus giving her a puzzled look through her sleep filled eyes. "Why, did you belly flop in the lake again?"

"Something like that." Schala smiled, looking at the ceiling.

"What was that?" Janus asked with a skewed glance.

"What do you mean?" Schala finally sat up in bed.

"That was no ordinary smile! What did you find yesterday? You got back pretty late."

"Enhasa isn't too horribly different from when I lived there, except for two people."

"What's different about them?"

"I don't think you could appreciate it."

"Can I at least go with you today? I wanna see too!"

"Oh, very well." Schala gave in. "Whoah, wait! What do you mean today? I wasn't planning on going back for a while."

"Why not? Did you find something you're afraid to face again?"

Schala clenched her fists. "You are so infuriatingly accurate!" Janus laughed. "Fine!" She got up, opened her closet, and rummaged around for something that looked at least a little different from what she had worn the day before. No such luck. "I've got to talk to mom about letting up on the uniform rules a little."

"Why? The only people who worry about their clothes are those silly girls who want to impress their boyfriends... Oh Schala, don't tell me..."

"It's time for you to mind your own business." Schala said, giving him a push toward the door.

"Okay, but I expect you to pick me up when you're ready to go." Schala just shut the door behind him.

.

Zeal managed to tear her eyes away from the blueprint as Dalton's black portal opened. "Your majesty! I've finally done it!" Zeal looked at him with non-interest. "I've finally unlocked the secret of Serges' armor!" Dalton gestured behind him. A huge yellow beast materializd out of the portal. It was at least ten feet tall, and it seemed to be mostly mouth, with two large arms on the side. "Just by adding a small amount of Lavos' energy to the armor, I was able to imbue it with artificial intelligence. These creatures will be the ultimate security guards of Zeal kingdom." Now Zeal had some real interest.

"Very good Dalton! I'll grant Zeal needs some securing. There have been reports from Enhasa that the citizenry has been mixing with the Earthbound ones."

"That is trouble indeed, my liege." Dalton paused, unsure of whether to proceed. "Will you grant me a boon?"

"You have been doing very good work lately Dalton. Very well."

"I need more authority. Some of the peasant rabble have been unruly lately. Among other things, they have been spreading rumors that... well..." Dalton seemed to hesitate now. "You know... You and me..."

"Hmm... The point is taken. Very well. If you need more political power, you shall have it. From this point forward, your power is only lesser than my own and the Gurus'," Dalton's face broke into a grin, "and Schala's." The grin fell apart.

"Th-Thank you my liege." Dalton quickly turned, and he and the Golem vanished back into the portal.

'Finally, someone with ambition.' Zeal smiled. 'Ah, I do admire that boy. The citizenry is right, to a point. "Point" is the key word. As if I'd ever take a peasant to bed.' Then, she stopped fooling herself. 'Ah, I'd like to, but past experience indicates that would be a very bad idea. Making him a leader in the kingdom probably is a smart move though. He may whip these apathetic unbelievers into shape yet. They all pretend to support me on the outside, but few of them truly accept the power of Lavos. Including Schala. What am I going to do about that girl?'

.

Janus squinted as his eyes adjusted back to normal from the white of teleportation. His eyes widened in surprise as he finally caught his first glimpse of Enhasa. "This is where the whole kingdom used to be?" He asked, incredulous. Schala just nodded, grinning. "But its so small! I mean, even Kajar is a lot bigger than this."

"Appearances can be deceiving." Schala said, leading him forward. Enhasa looked different in the early morning light, but then, everything looked prettier in the morning, Schala reflected. Janus was looking everywhere, wide eyed. To the casual observer, it would have appeared that he was just a curious four year old, but Schala knew that he was memorizing landmarks for teleportation purposes. They entered the main entrance just as a bookshelf behind the desk was sliding down into the floor. Janus looked across in surprise. It was a lot brighter in the room than it had been yesterday, probably due to the numerous holes in the walls and ceiling caused by their battle. Greven appeared at the door, wearing only a black tanktop and black shorts. He stretched, yawned, then looked out in surprise.

"Whoah! I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Schala smiled. "Actually, I'm only back because Janus wanted to come."

She looked down at Janus, who finally mumbled, "Is he the... the uh... the smile causer?"

Schala laughed nervously. "Get thine royal self up to the library, lest you get into trouble."

"But Schala-"

"Leave right now!" She hissed at him. Janus knew when he could push his luck, and now was definitely not one of those times. He scurried up the stairs, and soon found other things to occupy him anyway.

"Smile causer?" Greven asked with a grin.

"Say, when did you start smiling yourself?" Schala changed the subject. "Don't tell me you're a morning person."

"No. I was hoping you'd show up again." Schala looked surprised. "What? Too forward?"

"Huh? Forward? No..." Schala wasn't sure what the right response was, or even if there was one.

"Well sorry princess, but I never hide my feelings."

"Feelings?" Schala looked up, half afraid, half hopeful.

"Well-"

"Miss Schala! Good to have you with us again!" Ertai came down the stairs, wearing only blue shorts and a gold T-shirt. Schala looked surprised.

"Were you people only wearing clothes yesterday for show?"

"You'll find we don't stand on ceremony here." Greven went back to displaying his usual indifference.

"At least not until a reasonable hour." Ertai butted in. "The sun's barely up, for crying out loud. I only woke up because I'm too hungry to sleep in. And I think Greven's only up because he's got an appointment in the Earthbound village."

"Sho 'nuff." Greven nodded. "'Cept its still night there. Different time zone you know."

"Oh. One of THOSE appointments." Ertai sighed.

"Don't look so dejected!" Greven smiled at him. "I keep telling you, as soon as you turn sixteen-"

"That's four friggin' years!" Ertai wailed.

Schala had a slightly disgusted, yet slightly interested look on her face. "I take it from your expression that you know what we're talking about."

"Er... Well, yes. You just schedule it? Like an appointment?"

"Well, two appointments, actually."

Ertai groaned, pretending to collapse on the staircase. "You're killing me Greven!"

Greven cracked up. "Just wait! Those four years'll go by a lot faster than you think, you'll see."

"Yeah, thanks dad." Ertai grumbled. Greven immediately turned serious. "Oh, I'm sorry. They still won' t talk to you?"

"Mom is too afraid of me. I've only seen her once this whole time, and she said she didn't want me around because she was afraid my powers might "malfunction." She's afraid I'll hurt my brothers and sisters." He began to shake with rage. "Even dad thinks that Zeal might be using me for a spy, even though I gave his agents Melchior's bomb!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Ertai smiled weakly as he noticed Schala's disturbed expression. "Yeah, we're outcasts all around. Our own people are afraid of us, and now the Enlightened ones are starting to be too." Now Schala looked confused.

"Haven't you heard?" Greven asked. "They're saying that our powers are too "primitive" and "raw." We're not sophisticated enough for them."

"If power isn't raw, then its no good!" Schala said adamantly.

"I like that way of thinking!" Greven actually smiled again. He sighed. "Ah, well. I'd better get going. After I get back, I've got quite a few repairs to get to work on." With that, he walked back into the room, but left the bookshelf down.

"Well," Ertai smiled his unique smile again, "I must say, that's the most anyone outside of our group of friends has got him to talk in a long time."

'But I'm in the group now, don't you see?' Schala thought at him.

"Hmm... Maybe you are."

"Oops." Schala had forgotten about his telepathy already. "Now I must say, you're quite good at that." Just then, Janus reappeared at the top of the stairs.

"Schala, you've got to come see- you!" Janus shouted, glaring at Ertai. "Schala, he's the one who-"

"I know Janus. I figured that out yesterday."

Ertai stood up nervously. "Uh, hello Prince Janus. Please forgive my... unrestrained actions."

"That punch really hurt. You shouldn't be punching little guys like me." Janus came down and stood in front of Ertai.

"Sorry about that. It was a reflex."

"Like this?" Janus asked, kicking Ertai in the shin again. He howled in pain, hopping on one foot.

"Why you little-" Ertai tried to grab Janus, but he was too fast. Ertai fell forward, and they both rolled to the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly, Schala felt the black wind blowing up.

'What in the world?' She was confused. 'I'm with my friends here. There's nothing to-'

"Schala, look behind you!" Janus called from his upside down position at the bottom of the stairs. Whirling around, Schala saw she was standing right at the entrance to a black portal. An odd growling noise came from inside, and she took a few steps back. Then an enormous yellow creature appeared out of it. It looked around for a bit, before looking right at her.

"Princess Schala, Prince Janus, you are ordered to return to the Zeal Palace immediately."

"What? Why? What are you?" Schala demanded.

"Uh... Princess Schala, Prince Janus, you are ordered-"

"No way! On whose authority?"

But the Golem was not paying attention to her anymore. It seemed to be sniffing the air. "Detecting objective number two. Subject identified. Greven Vecar, wanted felon. Initiating special programming. Terminate with extreme prejudice." The Golem pushed Schala aside and smashed it's way through the narrow door into Greven's secret room.

"I'm getting dressed here!" Schala heard Greven's annoyed voice. She was too shocked at the moment to do anything. "Hey, I said... Augh! What the hell?!" Schala heard a small explosion, which spurred her into action. She rushed into Greven's room. He was sprawled on the floor, reeling from the impact of whatever spell the Golem had just cast. His lower half was all decked out in his black armor, but his top was bare.

"Greven Vecar, you must surrender to the justice of Queen Zeal immediately. If you do not comply, you will be terminated."

Greven looked up, a hurt look on his face. "Schala, you were a spy?!"

"What? No, I-"

"You were really trying to kill me yesterday! I was just lucky enough to be good..."

"No! Greven, I swear-"

"This is your last warning. Princess Schala and Greven Vecar, you must both come immediately to the Zeal Palace."

"Hell no!" Schala said, raising her hand. In a flash, a huge beam of purple energy smashed into the Golem and pushed it back through the front entrance. "Greven, I swear to you, I was only here to-"

"Schala, I really think we better take care of that thing first." Greven pointed to the Golem, then ran outside. Schala sighed and followed him. The Golem was whirring to itself.

"Analyzing attack. Unknown magic type. Cannot be copied. Closest facsimile... Shadow type. Initiating Shadow program." The Golem closed it's eyes, and two beams of rainbow colored light shot out of it, one hitting Schala, and one hitting Greven. Greven responded by stretching his arms out, and a steady stream of holy energy kept the Golem at bay. Schala quickly conjured up a small tornado funnel. The Golem was lifted high into the air, then slammed down with great force. "Copying air and water types." A huge block of ice fell out of the sky, landing on the two mages. It broke into many pieces, only to be followed by a second block. In a rage, Greven rushed up and smashed his fist into the thing's face. It only growled slightly in response, while Greven was in considerable pain.

"What is that thing made out of?" He hissed, holding his hand. Suddenly, he was blocked from view as a solid iron ball fell out of the sky and landed right on top of him. Schala gasped, then redoubled her efforts. The Golem was tossed around like a rag doll in a huge purple explosion, but when it landed, it seemed to be all right. Schala could see Greven begin to crawl out from under the orb, but it looked like he would be out of it for a few minutes more. Then, the Golem raced up and swung it's arm in a broad arc. Schala was thrown several feet before landing hard.

"This thing's tougher than I would have thought." She gasped. Then, her world went spinning as more ice blocks dropped from the sky. She stood, wobbling on her feet, as she used more holy power against it, but the Golem seemed to shrug it off. It reverted to it's original Shadow spell, and Schala and Greven were hurled back into the walls of Enhasa, nearly unconcious. Schala faintly saw Ertai, of all people, standing beside them, warming up to cast some kind of spell. "Ertai wait!" He obeyed instantly. She staggered to her feet. "Cast that spell on me instead."

"Schala, you're hurt pretty bad." Ertai argued.

"Just do it, I know what I'm doing!" Schala drew her dagger. Ertai reluctantly obeyed. A lightning bolt cracked out of the sky and hit Schala, but the dagger seemed to absorb all of the energy. It hummed with power as a purple glow surrounded it. Then, a wavy beam of purple and green energy ripped into the Golem, tearing through its armor with ease, and causing massive internal damage. The Golem whirred more slowly now.

"Copying Dalton..." A black cloud of poisonous gas filled the air, but Schala blew it away with another wind spell. Greven staggered to his feet, then a series of holy arcs slammed into the Golem from all different directions. "Dalton program inneffective. Fatal system damage. Now copying Karak..." As the Golem exploded, a long sliver of it's yellow armor raced out of the chaos, tearing a gaping wound in Schala's side before smashing into the wall of Enhasa. Schala screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Greven could see her weakly try to raise her hand and perform a healing spell. "Oh no. Schala, save your strength! Healers! Hey, let's get some healers out here!"

"They're all cowering in their rooms." Ertai spat with disgust.

Greven muttered an unprintable phrase. Due to the blood loss, Schala was nearing unconciousness. "That could be a fatal wound! What can we-" Greven stopped as he saw the Dreamstone dagger. Thinking quickly, he picked it up. "I'm not sure what energy properties this has..." He ran over to where Schala lay, unmoving now, and kneeled over her. He cast another attack spell on the dagger, but it seemed to warp as it neared the blade. The energy changed color, and when it had passed the blade, it fell gently on Schala as a healing light. Her wound closed up enough to stop the blood flow, then Greven tore the bottom off her robe and a piece of fabric off of her dress to bandage it up. "Just wait 'till I get my hands on Dalton." Ertai heard him mumbling. When Greven was satisfied that she would be all right, he gently picked her up and carried her into his room.

"Why would Dalton send such a war machine just to bring her back to the palace?" Ertai wondered out loud.

"I think he was using her to get to me. I believe that she didn't have anything to do with this, especially since the Golem attacked us both equally." Janus quietly walked up and peeked in the door as Greven was setting her on his bed.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asked nervously.

"I think so kid, er, Prince Janus. Look, the best thing you can do right now is to go home and tell your side of the story before Dalton gets to the queen with his. Also, you would be doing me a huge favor if you left my role in all this out of it." Janus meekly nodded and then teleported away. "Ertai, you'd best go try to rouse some of the healers out of their hiding places. I don't think my little trick is going to do it for her." Ertai nodded and ran out. Greven quickly crawled into his torso armor and fastened all the straps. "Looks like the best thing I can do is disappear to the Earthbound village until all this blows over." He said to Schala, even though he didn't think she could hear. "I hate to leave you like this." He paused for a minute, looking down at her through confused eyes and conflicting emotions. "Such a peaceful facade." He finally mumbled, sure that she was asleep. "No one would ever guess at the raging tempest underneath." After a quick glance at the door to make sure no one was around,

Greven leaned over and landed a light kiss on her forehead. As he turned and hurried out the door, a smile slowly crept up Schala's face.

.

The sun had already set when the white glow of teleportation had faded, signaling to Ertai that Greven was back. As Ertai hurried into the secret room, he was shocked to see that Greven was on his knees, his face and arms blackened with soot. "Dalton is after me." He said, answering Ertai's unspoken question. "I think he found out I'm the one who trashed his Golem. He came right down to the Earthbound village, demanding that they hand me over. At least my loyalty has been somewhat rewarded, in that they didn't turn me over to him. I managed to hide in one of the grain silos, so he set them all on fire. I thought I was gonna roast alive, but my noble benefactor got me away from there before I could really fry. That's good for me, but the Earthbound are practically out of food now."

"What are they going to eat?" Ertai asked, a worried look on his face.

"I don't know. We need to find out who it is that's been helping me all this time, but I don't know how... Schala! I'm sure she can help us!" Greven looked back to his bed. "What happened to her?"

"Some of the healers finally got over here once all the smoke from the Golem explosion had dissipated. They closed that wound right up, and she went back to the Zeal Palace."

"That's good. Think she'll be back any time soon?"

"Hey, she had a great time again today didn't she?" Ertai gestured to include Greven's shattered wall, and slightly bloody piece of fabric on the floor. "How can she resist?"

.

"Young people... Hang in there!" - An anonymous resident of Vector


	8. The Noble Benefactor

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 8**

**The Noble Benefactor**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

As Schala tenderly rubbed the scar tissue of her wound that night, she reflected on the events of the day. Before they had been so rudely interrupted, Greven had been saying something about not hiding his feelings. Did that mean he liked her as much as she liked him, or was she just chasing shadows? She wasn't even sure why she liked him, she just felt like it was something that was meant to be. She remembered him being really worried about her until she had fallen unconcious. Even while she was asleep, she had imagined something. It seemed no more real than the bubble on a sleeper's eye, but she had felt the light touch of a kiss. Her reverie was broken as her door opened and Janus propelled himself onto her bed.

"What a weird day that was! I can kind of see why you didn't want me to go."

"It was a lot weirder than I would have thought. I'm still trying to sort out everything that happened."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Dalton stood there, looking very angry. "Princess Schala, you were at Enhasa today when one of my Golems was destroyed. I was hoping you would assist me in finding the villain who commited this heinous act." He said in a tightly controlled voice.

"I did not witness the actual event. I had been injured in an unfortunate accident and was recuperating inside." 'There's more than one of those damn things?'

"Surely you must have seen something. Was anyone unusual in the vicinity? Perhaps a wanted criminal?" 'You bet your royal ass there's more than one!'

"Cut the polite pretense Dalton!" Schala spat. "We both know there's some kind of freaky telepathic link between us. The true story is that your freakin' Golem attacked me when I refused to come back to the Zeal Palace right away!"

"Matters of state come above your personal wishes." He growled in a low voice. "I honestly didn't think the Golem would attack you. But I get the feeling that someone else was there to instigate the attack first."

"Oh, how very clever you are." Schala's voice was the epitome of sarcasm. "It attacked an honest citizen of Enhasa. Unfortunately for it, that citizen was strong enough to overpower it."

"And you helped in this overpowering?"

"Of course! I wasn't too fond of the thing either." Schala parted her royal robe to show Dalton the wide slash in her dress, and the scar underneath. Then she cried out in surprise as Dalton kicked her to the floor.

"YOU FREAKING-" The rest of Dalton's phrase was truly unprintable. "Who saved your miserable hide?! Who helped you beat the Golem?! Talk, damn it!!" Schala just stared up at him in amazement and defiance. Dalton strode over to her in three steps, and lifted her up by the neck. "WHO WAS IT?! I'll end your cursed bloodline right now if you don't tell me!!"

Schala couldn't have told him even if she wanted to, which she didn't. His grip on her neck was too tight.

A sudden pain in Dalton's shin caused him to let go. Schala crashed to the floor, rubbing her neck. When he didn't immediately back away, Janus kicked him again. Dalton dealt the young prince such a blow that he almost flew through the window, which would probably have killed him. Schala unleashed a blast of holy power that sent Dalton through her door to land in a hurting heap out in the hall. She slowly got up, then after making sure Janus had sustained no permanent damage, walked out into the hall. Dalton stared up at her through hate filled eyes. "Dalton... What the hell is your deal anyway?"

Dalton achingly got up and resumed his usual arrogant posture. "Wouldn't you just love to know. I'll find your little friend, and you both will pay for what you've done." With that, he hurried on down the hall.

"We... We've got to go tell mom..." Janus said in a thin voice. Schala guessed that he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"I'd like to," she began, rubbing her neck, "but she would never believe us. She trusts Dalton more than she trusts me right now."

"But why? He's always been rude and mean and..." Janus trailed off to breathe some more. They both looked up as a messenger appeared at the door.

"Miss Schala, her royal highness requests your presence in the throne room." The messenger bowed.

"Guess I'd better go." She turned back for a second. "Are you going to be all right Janus?"

"S-sure." He wheezed, then waved her off as a cough overtook him. Schala followed the messenger, a worried look on her face.

.

Schala paused at the door to Zeal's throne room. She was disturbed to see a large engraving resembling the Mammon Machine carved onto the door. The messenger came to a halt and waved her inside. Once she got through the door, she saw that the three Gurus were already there, in a discussion, or rather, a debate with the queen. Melchior was holding the plans.

"Your majesty, I simply don't see the need for a machine of this scale. The machine we have now already more than meets our needs."

"That means we don't need enough!" Zeal smiled unpleasantly. "Not to mention its very draining on the control mages. I'm sure nearly everyone is fed up with it by now."

"But without the control mages won't we, well, lose control?"

"That's the last thing I'm worried about. I want you three, and you Schala," she said, noticing that Schala had entered the room, "to build a machine that will collect more energy than mere mortals could stand. I don't want my orders questioned. I know what I'm doing here." With that, she dismissed them.

"She has no idea what she's doing here." Melchior said in the hallway.

"I agree." Schala frowned. "But what can we do? We have no power to question her orders."

Belthasar looked thoughtful. "That's not necessarily true."

"What do you mean? She is the rightful ruler."

"I think I know what's on his mind Schala." Melchior said. "Technically, YOU are the rightful ruler. Truly, she has no royal blood in her. The main reason she has ruled since Vigo's death is that you weren't old enough... ..but that's really no longer the case."

Schala looked shocked. "You can't just depose her!"

"Not without your order, no." Gaspar frowned. "Oh well, looks like we're not going to get out of this project. See how you feel after you've built this machine Schala. We won't bring it up again until then." The three Gurus walked away, leaving Schala to ponder their words.

For a few minutes anyway. But soon Schala caught a fleeting glimpse of something dark moving in the shadows, of which there weren't many in the golden palace. She couldn't resist unleashing a small amount of holy power. The figure collapsed to the ground in mid movement, groaning. Schala ran up as quietly as she could. "Ugh... Very funny Schala." Greven groaned.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing here? You could get killed, or worse! You're a wanted man you know."

"That doesn't matter now. I'm here for two reasons. First, the Earthbound need help, and since you actually seem to have some compassion, I figured you're my best bet. We're almost out of food. I need some way to transport massive amounts of food from Enhasa to the ground. I hoped you would have an idea."

"Not off the top of my head, but I'm sure I can think of something."

"Great. I also need to find out who my noble benefactor is. We could really use his help too."

Schala blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, and raised herself up on her toes for a minute, before bobbing back down. She always did that, or something similar, when she was trying to think. 'Oh god, how sexy was that?' Schala heard Greven think. She tried to avoid letting him see her blush, which was nearly impossible at this close quarters.

"Oh damn. You're telepathic, aren't you?" Greven looked at the floor.

"What gives you that idea?" Schala asked as seriously as she could.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Greven looked annoyed. Schala was puzzled.

"Anyway..." She continued as if this hadn't happened. "Tracking this guy down could be difficult. But maybe not impossible. It has to be someone powerful enough to avoid mother and now, Dalton."

"Well, I appreciate your help, whatever you can do." Greven turned around to walk away.

"Wait a minute!" Schala cried. "What was your second reason for coming here?"

"That wasn't two?" He asked nervously.

"Not in my book." Schala grinned, enjoying herself.

"Well, I was wondering if, maybe... you would... go out with me sometime!" Greven said the last part in a rush.

Schala stared at him, wide eyed. "What were you thinking?" She asked scornfully. "I'm the princess of Zeal kingdom!" Schala finally saw a flicker of real emotion in his eyes. Then, before he could form his mouth into a vengeful sneer, for she didn't expect any other reaction from him, she propelled herself into his arms. Greven gaped in amazement now. "Which does not mean that I'm not a normal person! What took you so long?" Greven was about to smile in relief, but then another angry look crossed his face.

"Doubts like this. I would love to believe this situation," he gestured his arms in a limited manner under hers, "but I've got to be sure you didn't mean those first two statements. You definitely are a normal person, but I've got to be sure this just isn't pity."

"Has pity ever done... ..this?" Taking the initiative, Schala stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. He responded eagerly, but she didn't care. She was eager too. He ran his hand through her hair, then brought his arms down around her waist. Schala didn't realize it, but he had to struggle to stop there. He sternly reminded himself that Schala was not an Earthbound woman, and a whole new set of rules went with her.

Their kiss only ended when Schala got tired of standing on her toes. She closed her eyes, and a soft gasp escaped her lips as they separated. Greven's ego rocketed into the stratosphere. "Wow." She whispered, barely audible.

"I'm convinced." Greven smiled softly.

"About what?" Schala asked, glassy eyed. She seemed to have lost herself in the moment.

"Nothing. We should have done this from the start. What was that stupid fight about anyway?"

"We couldn't have from the start." Schala sighed. "Not with Ertai hanging around. And especially not with Janus..." Schala looked around suddenly, slipping out of his arms completely. "Crud! Was anyone watching us?"

A frown returned to Greven's face. Schala had hoped he would be able to retain his smile for just a bit longer. "I didn't see anyone. But then, I was really only watching you." Suddenly, they both froze in place as Melchior rounded the corner. Greven tensed, preparing to jump to whatever meager cover he could find, but it was too late. Melchior had already seen both of them. They both tensed as Melchior neared them, but to their surprise, he walked right by.

"Don't mind me." Melchior said nonchalantly. They were about to relax, but then he whirled around. "Oh, Greven," Greven nearly jumped out of his skin, "if you do get down to Algetty tomorrow, don't resist the teleportation again. Its for you're own good." With that, Melchior walked away. Greven turned to run after him.

"Don't." Schala held her hand out. "Dalton's quarters is down that hall. I'll talk to him. You, on the other hand, better get back to Enhasa."

Greven just shook his head in disbelief. "All right. I can hardly believe the past five minutes are real. When are you coming over again?"

Schala turned away from him. "As soon as I can, but that may not be for a while."

"Why? What-"

"I can't tell you. Something big is about to happen, and believe me when I tell you that anyone who knows something they shouldn't will die for it. Now you really better get going before Dalton shows up."

"Sure. I didn't plan on being here this long anyway. I have to confess its making me uneasy. But how am I supposed to get back? I didn't really arrange any return transportation. I was kind of hoping-"

"Say no more." Schala smiled. "Prepare to travel Air Schala!" A light purple glow surrounded Greven, and with a light flash, he disappeared from the palace. Schala immediately rushed off to find Melchior.

The Guru had retreated to his workshop, where he was peering over the Mammon Machine blueprints. "So you're the one who's been helping Greven out!" Schala wasted no time.

"Well, yes. Although he doesn't view it as such."

Schala sighed. "I assume you overheard... the whole thing. Do you have any ideas about how we might move massive quantities of food to the Earthbound village?"

"It would require a lot of teleportation. Easy for someone like you, but inconvenient all the same. We need some kind of permanent teleportation beam."

"Melchior, you're a genius." Schala smiled. "The wavelength is so easy, we just need a small amount of power to keep it going permanently. You think you'll be able to start on the Mammon Machine without me?"

"Start yes. Finish no. This side project had better be quick, and covert, if you value Greven's life."

"I sure do! You really think mother wouldn't forgive him after all this time?"

"If one thing's for sure, that lady knows how to carry a grudge. Especially against traitors and men who get close to her. Its really bad luck that Greven sort of falls under both."

"Why would she object to someone being involved with me?"

"She will think you're too young. And I could almost agree with her in this case, giving Greven's way of life."

"He would never hurt me, emotionally anyway. I can tell that much already."

"I believe that he'll TRY not to. But there's a big difference between trying and doing. He's rebelled against our civilization so much that he really is quite a rude brute." Melchior grimaced.

"I can't argue with that. I just have to say that there's another person entirely inside. Someone like... like father was."

"We could really use someone like that right now. I think that Vigo would be the only one who could deter Zeal away from this obsession with Lavos. Our bad luck he's dead."

"Tell me about it. Well, I'll get started first thing in the morning, and I guess you three will too."

"Yes. Well, good night Schala. And be careful. I really don't know how safe any of us are anymore."

"Good night Melchior. Don't worry about me. Just worry about that machine."

.

"God you're green! Could you really change anything? Even if you wanted to?" - Wiegraf Folles


	9. The Soul Kiss

****

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 9

**The Soul Kiss**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala stood silently in the wind, admiring the handiwork of the construction team she had "borrowed" from Melchior. Unfortunately, she had not been able to place the teleportation beam at an angle. Everything would have to be beamed directly to the part of the planet directly below where the beam was housed. Since keeping a job like this covert was a lot harder than she had first thought, she had moved the place from it's intended sight of the southern shore of the great lake, all the way over to Enhasa. Well, that's what she told the construction crew, anyway. But the fact that it was so near to Greven had also been a big incentive. Still, during the three days of near constant work, she hadn't gotten to see him very much.

Now she turned around, expecting to see him coming over to check their progress. The path was empty. 'Funny, my reflecting on that should have been his cue.' She sighed mentally and physically. 'Ertai!!'

'Yes ma'am?' The young voice responded.

'Send Greven over here. We're ready to go and I'm tired of waiting for him.'

'I'll get right on it.' Approximately three seconds later, Greven appeared at the odd structure, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Well that was unexpected. But I guess you're just full of surprises."

"Oh, you can count on that. Now where have you stored all the supplies?"

"In my room, and in-"

"No, I need a mental picture."

"And I would give you that how?"

Schala did her flustered toe hop thing again. Greven smiled. "All right. Just relax, and I'll pull it out of your head."

"You can do that?"

"Of course! Now just hold still." Greven relaxed as much as he could. Schala concentrated slightly, then frowned. "You must have a thick head."

"I would have thought you already knew that."

"Shh." Greven closed his mouth. Schala concentrated deeply. "Okay, I can see it. That's good enough. Greven, help me break it off."

"How? I don't know anything about this. Besides, I kinda like it."

"Just picture yourself breaking contact! Its not hard. Hurry, put up some resistance, or we'll create a link!"

"A link? Sounds intriguing."

"No! You don't know what that means! What it does to people!" Schala's voice was starting to sound desperate. "Hurry! End it now!"

"All right, I guess I better..." Greven tried to do what Schala had said, but the subject was apparently just a little too abstract for him.

"We're too late." Schala said very weakly. "Three seconds to impact."

"What impact?"

Suddenly, both their brains were filled with brilliant images, each flash causing tremendous pain. The flashes died down, and then they could both simultaneously see two women, both in labor. One calmly pushing, the medic being the only one at the bedside. The other, squeezing her husband's hand, but screaming in agony anyway. Then, the flashes started again, and they lost all contact with reality.

* * *

Through the swirling void, a man appeared, standing on the edge of a cliff. Three huge monsters - Weapons - appeared. A giant fireball formed in front of one of them, rushing forward, obliterating the man, and the cliff. Agonized screams erupted from dozens of sets of lungs, but were drowned out by laughter from the Weapons. The leader's laugh grew louder and louder, until it seemed that the laugh was all that existed, and all that ever had existed. He grew in size until the great blue armor stretched upward, out of sight.

But then the armor collapsed, forming hundreds of small yellow drops, which turned into Golems. They swarmed over everything, destroying all that it was possible to destroy. But then, a beam of fire shot out of the ground, obliterating a Golem where it stood. Another followed, and another, each taking out one of the Golems. Soon they were gone, and the ground was nothing but a scorched wasteland. A needle like structure began to rise out of the ground. Many more followed, until they were nearly uncountable. Finally, an odd, round shell emerged from the ground. It opened to reveal a glaring blue eye, and then a totally inhuman scream erupted from some unseen vocal cords. It grew loud enough to blur vision, until the sight finally faded away completely, and so did the sound, dying off in a sickening burble, as if someone's throat were being cut.

* * *

Now there were two boys climbing up a cliff face. When they reached the top, a red Nu bounded forward, bestowing a glowing light on them both. Confused, they ran away, toward a cluster of buildings. The Weapons were there again, apparently in some kind of civil war. At some unseen cue, the boys joined the rest of the people in attacking the leader. Now Zeal stepped forward to finish him off. As a giant blue explosion engulfed the landscape, the other figures vanished, leaving just her.

Greven, at his present age, reappeared in front of her. They seemed to be discussing pleasantries, until Greven erupted in anger, launching a magical spell at Zeal. She began to glow with an angry red light. Suddenly, she vanished from sight, to be replaced by Lavos. The scream erupted again. Greven in the vision rushed forward, planting his fist square in the blue eye. A black mist erupted from the eye, and the vision vanished.

* * *

Both of them felt as if they were just waking up, but Schala realized they were still in the odd link world, just slightly more aware of things. A light came on behind her, and she turned to look. Through this hazy window, she saw herself, smiling gently. Two children raced into the picture, latching onto her legs. She saw herself smile down at them, reassuring them. In the background, she saw a man standing, but he was in the shadows, and she could not determine his identity.

Greven, who had also been watching the proceedings, turned back, expecting to see something pertaining to him on the opposite side. The wavy swirling remained dark, showing nothing. Schala's vision faded out, and they seemed to be accelerating.

* * *

Now they were even more aware of their surroundings. This time, visions opened up on both sides. Each had already seen what was happening, and turned to watch the other.

Greven saw Dalton stroll into Schala's room, angrily demanding something. When Schala obviously didn't comply, he picked her up by the neck, from all appearances prepared to kill her. She was saved by two well timed kicks from Janus. Both of them were sent to the floor as Dalton left the room. Everyone involved landed in bad shape, and Dalton left.

Schala saw Greven approaching two soldier types and a middle aged man with a beard, standing in front of a cave entrance. The man immediately yelled when he saw Greven, and the soldiers stepped forward to block his way. Greven yelled back, and heated words were exchanged for a few moments. Then, the white glow of teleportation filled the area, and Greven ran from the scene. Dalton strode toward the cave entrance now, looking even angrier than he had earlier. He argued with the man for a moment, then sent all three people flying with small fireballs released from his hand. He continued to stroll arrogantly into the cave.

The visions faded, then everything, including themselves, seemed to disentegrate into a green mist. The two thick clouds that had been Schala and Greven swirled together, starting a large tornado funnel that pulled all the remaining mist inside. Inside, at the heart of the funnel, all pretense ended. All hopes, dreams, and fears were laid open to the wind, and both souls were laid bare. All emotion degenerated into a wonderful, terrifying chaos, temporarily throwing sanity and self control to the wind.

* * *

True reality slowly came back to Schala. She refused to open her eyes, afraid of what she would see. In fact, her whole being was overwhelmed with a sense of fear. She felt that she was leaning against something... no, someone. Behind tightly shut eyelids, her mind instinctively threw up every shield it knew how, far too late for them to do any good. Even she had not conciously known some of the secrets her soul had just freely given to someone else. As a last ditch effort, her mind clung faintly to the hope that this was all a bad dream. She finally opened her eyes as she felt someone running their fingers through her hair, then squinted against the sunlight.

"Schala...?" Greven asked weakly.

"Yes?" She replied just as weakly, some of her fear dissipating.

"I-I'm sorry. I guess. I don't know what to say."

"So don't say anything." Schala slowly slid up and kissed him. They both closed their eyes, losing themselves in it, trying to forget some of what just happened. But unlike before, Schala could not really concentrate. Her mind kept drifting back to some of the things she had seen about Greven, and she didn't like them. She reluctantly broke off, then rose to a kneeling position. "Twenty seven different girls?" She tried to find a shallow subject, to mask the emotional shock she was still feeling.

"Well, yeah. But can we discuss that later? What just happened?"

"Like I tried to warn you, a link. You can see why I wanted to avoid it. Traditionally, two people only link on their wedding night, but I guess no one ever bothered to discuss sophisticated telepathy with you."

Greven shook his head. But, since he knew Schala pretty well after what had just happened, he knew that wasn't all that was bothering her. "Despite the extreme nature of that link, I get the feeling something even more important happened in there that I didn't recognize."

Schala sighed. "What happened at the end... that isn't part of a normal link. In theory, it happens very rarely." She sighed again. "Its called a soul kiss. It supposedly means that the two linking people are perfect for each other. But, again in theory, it also means that they won't be together very long."

Greven's eyes narrowed in concern. "Schala, that second vision... warp... uh, place, we were at... I didn't get anything. Mine was blank. Please tell me that links aren't always entirely accurate."

"Sorry. They usually are. As Gaspar is fond of saying, "Whatever must be, must be." Links seem to prove predestination."

"Okay, this conversation is getting boring." Schala and Greven whirled in the direction the voice was coming from. Their hearts froze as they saw Dalton standing at the end of the beam housing. Schala cringed backward, but Greven, remembering what he had seen Dalton do to Schala, managed to stagger to a standing position on his wobbly knees.

"What do you want?" He snarled.

"Such gratitude." Dalton walked around them in a circle, like a vulture waiting for his prey to collapse. "Considering I just saved both your hides."

"Why should we believe a word of what you say? You've tried to kill both of us, you know." Schala said, very worried about where this was going.

"Please. Neither of those were real attempts. I was merely-"

"This isn't a game!" Greven snarled. He wanted to lunge forward, but his head was still reeling so much that he had to keep still.

"Only to those who don't know how to play." Dalton dismissed the complaint. "And you two definitely don't know how to play. Your lives as you know them would be over right now if I hadn't intervened."

"Fine! I'll accept that! Just tell us what the hell you mean!" Greven shouted.

"Schala, you seem to know a fair amount about links." He said, to let them know he had been there the whole time. "But there's one point you forgot to factor in. They're exceptionally loud you know, on every telepathic level. That's why people who link usually have someone stand by to block them out. But, as usual, you assumed you knew everything-"

"That wasn't a planned link." Schala said quietly.

"Really? How absolutely fascinating!" Dalton looked at Greven in a new light. "What a trick man, what a trick! I must admit, that's one way to get what you want."

"What ARE you talking about?!" Schala demanded, even though she knew what he was insinuating. "It affected him as much as me."

"Whatever." Dalton dismissed her argument. "Anyway, I blocked you out. If I hadn't, this area would be swarming with imperial mages by now, Greven would be dead, and you would be in solitary confinement."

"So why did you do it? Just so you could gloat like this?" Schala was getting tired of his smug expression.

"It would have been a pity for the game to end so soon. I want the final play to be much more interesting. And it looks like it will be."

"You blocked us..." Greven started. "Does that mean, you could see...?"

Dalton just grinned ambiguously. "He could. There's some kind of connection between us." Schala groaned.

"My future... was blank. You didn't mess with us, did you?" Dalton, who was expecting an entirely different sort of response, was taken aback. "I'm not the easily embarrased type, you perv."

Dalton burst out laughing. "Sorry kid. No one has the power to change what's in a link! Enjoy your life, while it lasts." Dalton turned to walk away. Suddenly, he turned back, grabbed ahold of Greven's armor, hoisted him up, and hurled him full force into the beam housing. "And its not going to last long. Get on with the game. I'll be watching." With that, Dalton teleported away.

Schala wanted to run to Greven, but she still couldn't get to her feet. "Just what I needed after an unplanned soul kiss." She groaned, her voice shaking. "Are you all right?"

"Oh yeah. I'm great." Greven called from his upside down position on the stones. "We better get moving before he raises the alarm."

"He won't." Schala said calmly.

"You can't believe a word that sleazebag says!"

"Greven, I can't move yet." Schala held her hands up. They were shaking badly. "Besides, I think he wants our demises to be in a much more spectacular manner."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Greven demanded in a strained voice.

"How about a nap? I'm exhausted."

"Sounds all right to me." Greven said. He rolled off the stones, over to where Schala was already stretching out. She rested her head on his shoulder, and was asleep in a few minutes.

'But its not all right.' Greven thought. 'I'm going to have a short life? But I want... a life with her...' "One thing's for sure Dalton." He whispered out loud. "If I go out, I'm taking you with me."

.

"Words aren't the only way of telling someone how you feel." - Tifa Lockhart


	10. A Visit to Earthbound Island

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 10**

**A Visit To Earthbound Island**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala awoke slowly, aware that Greven was moving out from under her. "We overslept." His voice drifted into her half concious brain. "We really need to get going, if we're going to go." Schala found that she was finally calm again, but she didn't want to move from her position, all the same.

"Can't your people live without these supplies for another night?" She asked without opening her eyes.

"They can, but they won't be happy campers. The last of the old stuff will have run out by now."

"Oh, all right." Schala slowly raised herself to her feet. She concentrated for just a moment, and a large stack of crates appeared next to the beam housing. Greven immediately began chucking them onto the beam activator, where they promptly disappeared. "Don't waste your effort." Schala scolded him. With a small gesture on her part, the entire pile rose up into the air and settled gently on the beam housing, where it vanished at once.

"Impressive." Greven nodded approvingly.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Schala assured him.

"Not even when you beat the crap out of me last week?"

"Well, maybe you've seen a little..." She said, not wanting her boyfriend to feel embarrased. Then she realized what she had just thought to herself. 'Whoah! I have a boyfriend! Cool. Although, I know him so well now, he seems more like a husband...' Her brows furrowed.

"I heard that." Greven said, pretending to be cross. "Looks like part of that link was permanent."

"I never heard of this happening..." Schala thought. "Oh well, we can ponder that later. Let's get going." Greven nodded, and they stepped up onto the stone pyramid. A gentle light suffused them, and they disappeared.

.

Schala shuddered involuntarily as a frigid, biting wind blasted through her robes. She wrapped them more tightly around herself, before looking at Greven, who seemed to be unaffected. He shrugged at her. "The next part is up to you."

"All right. I'm sending you on ahead, with a five minute lag time for me and the supplies. You've got to explain that I'm coming on friendly terms."

"I'll do my best." She nodded, then teleported him away. Shivering, she bundled the robes even tighter around her.

.

Greven blinked as the white glow of teleportation faded. Looking around, he wondered how Schala knew where to send him. Then he just slapped himself on the head and laughed at his stupidity. Sophisticated telepathy was definitely not his forte. Then he looked around the cave more carefully, wondering where to find his father at this hour. That might have been difficult, considering he didn't know what the hour was. But something interrupted his pondering.

"Greven! Where have you been?!" Whirling around, Greven saw his... well, he saw a young woman named Selisha running toward him. She could best be described as his girlfriend, although that wasn't quite it. Out of all the girls he... spent time with, he had spent more time with Selisha than all the others put together. She ran up and threw her arms around his neck, which disconnected her feet from the floor. Greven groaned as he straightened his back. "Am I heavy?" She teased him.

"Of course not," Greven answered sensibly, "I'm just weak."

"That is something you definitely aren't, as you've proven many times. So where have you been? Why haven't you been down here? Everyone misses you."

"I wish that were true. I've been trying to get some food for us, after Dalton had his way with our storage silos."

"Somebody needs to do something about that guy." Selisha stated.

"We're working on it." Greven said. It was partly true, anyway.

"Who's "we?" She asked, her eyes narrowing, although Greven wasn't sure why.

As if on cue, a white light filled the room, and Schala stood there with the full load of crates. Greven gulped. "What, did you get all of ten feet?" Schala demanded. "Oh. I see. It's her..."

Selisha stood in open mouthed awe. "Wh-what is... the princess... doing here?" She finally got out in a hoarse whisper.

"She's helping us out big time. Now, do you know where I can find my father?"

Selisha shook herself out of her amazement. "Not exactly, but I can go find him for you."

"Thanks."

As Selisha turned to walk away, Greven was assaulted with a deafening mental shout. 'Tell that (expletive deleted) about us!!'

'Schala...' Greven tried responding mentally. To his surprise, it worked.

'Don't take that tone with me! I know what you two do! I don't want you around her anymore!'

'That's going too far!' Greven shouted back. 'Schala, I love you, all right? But its going to take me a while to sever all my connections here. I'm not just going to go around insulting everyone and causing hurt feelings because of you!'

'No, you do enough of that on your own.' They stood in silence for a few moments. 'I'm sorry.' She said after a few minutes. 'I know this can't be easy for you.'

'Nothing is ever easy for the Earthbound.' He stated. 'And with a combination of Earthbound and Enlightened, forget it.'

'I suppose so... Hey! Did you just say you loved me?'

"You should consider that a given." He reverted back to his vocal cords. "Especially after what just happened."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between having it wrenched out of your terrified soul and openly saying it. I love you too, but I'm not sure if its just because of the link, or... Like I said, I really don't know what all the effects of a link are."

"I guess that's something we'll both have to find out for ourselves." Greven said with narrowed eyes, making it hard for Schala to tell exactly what he was talking about. Their conversation was cut short when Selisha returned, followed by a dour looking middle aged man. His eyes practically leapt out of his head when he saw Schala, and he angrily turned on Greven.

"I knew you were a spy, you little rat! You've sold us out!"

"Oh will you shut your pie hole, you old geezer? The amount of crap that's about to come pouring out will bury us all!" Greven responded. Schala guesses that this sort of thing happened quite often.

"You better have a good explanation for this, you Lavos worshipping-"

"I sense that little comment isn't just directed at me. Schala's here to help us, so you really better take that back!"

"Why? For telling the truth? I've had just about enough of your attitude, whichever side you're on!" Greven growled a little, and then charged straight at the man. Selisha groaned, as if even this type of situation came up quite often. They exchanged a blindingly fast flurry of blows, with Greven finally being sent to the ground with a jumping uppercut on the "geezer's" part.

"Screw you, dad." Greven groaned.

"That's your mother's job." He spat at his son, then looked at Schala. "Explain yourself, Madame Lavos."

"Like Greven said, I'm here to help. He said you were out of food, so I brought some. Pure and simple."

"Probably poisoned." He spat again, taking great care to make sure it landed in Greven's face.

"You know, in the not too distant past, you people were all screaming for some Enlightened help."

"Yes, but we all were forced to live without it, and we got used to it. As you can imagine, we're not too fond of your kind around here. We get enough "help" from Greven."

"From all accounts, you people treat him like dirt. Maybe you all treat each other like that, but I think its terrible." She sighed. "Do you want the food or not?"

Greven finally stood up, and dusted himself off as best he could. "Just bring it in, whatever he says." Schala nodded nervously, and the whole pile levitated off the ground again.

"Hold on! She definitely can't come in, no matter what!"

"Now just a-" But Schala cut him off.

"Stand aside. I have business within."

"Business?!" Greven's dad demanded. "With who?!"

"I would like to speak with Mrs. Vecar." Greven looked up, surprised.

So did his dad. "What the hell? You know what this is about?" He turned to Greven. Greven shrugged. Schala strode forward, the crates following her. "Hold it." The old man stretched his arm out, blocking her way. Schala got an angry look on her face.

"Dad, I don't think you want to do-"

"Shut up Greven. I'm serious. No Zealian residents inside."

Schala, realizing that this guy was going to be a jerk no matter what, quickly grabbed his collar and hurled him into the cave wall. As he lay dazed, Greven motioned her into the cave. "Where is the Vecar cave, specifically?" Greven opened his mouth to speak, but Schala waved her hand. "Mental picture please. Just be sure to pull out this time." Greven nodded, rather darkly, she thought, and the picture popped into her mind. She concentrated, and a white glow surrounded the area, leaving only Selisha behind.

When Schala could see again, a middle aged woman was screaming with fright, herding many small children away from them as quickly as possible. Schala let the children go, but quickly put up a small force field between them and the woman. The woman crashed into it, before turning around to glare angrily at Schala. "Another Enlightened one eh? Wasn't your first visit enough?"

"Do I have the honor of addressing Mrs. Vecar?" Schala asked as politely as possible.

"Yes..." The lady said, obviously reluctant to volunteer any further information.

"I have come to apologize for Dalton's actions. He acted without authority from Queen Zeal or myself."

"Your authority? Then you're..."

Schala ignored her. "I have brought a large supply of food, for all the Earthbound ones, but especially for your family, as Dalton singled out the Vecars."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Mrs. Vecar asked with narrowed eyes.

Schala made a slight gesture, and Greven reluctantly stepped out from behind the pile of crates. His mother gasped. 'Why are you doing this?' He asked Schala telepathically.

'Don't pretend you didn't want someone to do this for you all these years.' She responded quietly.

"Hello mother." He said quietly, out loud.

She backed up, holding her arms out. "S-stay back. Earthbound weren't meant to have these powers. They could malfunction..." Greven turned back to Schala, giving her a look that pretty much said, 'you see?'

"Mrs. Vecar, that is, quite frankly, beyond crap!" Schala said angrily. "Greven can control his powers better than a lot of Enlightened ones I've seen."

"But... My husband said that Lavos' energy was very unstable..." She wouldn't surrender yet.

"He's been feeding you all that bunk?!" Greven roared in a spittle inducing rage. His mother cringed.

"We Enlightened ones do not use Lavos for our magical power. Only to keep Zeal in the air." Schala said diplomatically, playing the politician.

Greven's mother looked up, tears in her eyes. "Son, I'm sorry. I had no idea..." A few moments of silence passed, then Greven slowly walked forward and embraced her.

"Its all right mom. Its all right..." Greven said in a choking voice. "Its too late for me." They stood that way for a few moments, then Greven backed off. "But its not too late for Ertai. I think he should come back here as soon as possible. I'm not exactly the best role model for him."

"That would be nice... But I don't really know Ertai. He was only about three when you two left. I think he should stay with you, for now." Greven's eyes narrowed, but then he whirled around. Following his line of vision, Schala saw his father standing at the entrance.

"Stop controlling her!!" Greven roared. "Everything that Ertai and I have suffered has been your fault!! Don't you care about him, at least?!"

"You haven't suffered!" His father responded. "You've both been living the cushy life while we've been suffering!"

"You bastard!" Greven leaped forward. His father, who had been tensing, did the same. Schala stepped between them, a purple shield of energy forming at the end of each arm. The enraged Vecars bounced off, and went sprawling into the dirt. They immediately got up and charged again, making Schala expand the shields so they couldn't get around her.

"Boys, please!" She scolded as if they were both two. 'Well, they're acting like it.' She thought.

'I heard that.' Greven responded crankily, but managed to calm himself down.

"I must admit sir, I don't have the most favorable of impressions regarding you." Schala addressed his father as politely as she could, the words tasting bitter in her mouth. "Now, what is your name?"

"I'm Vuel Vecar." He said, then clamped his jaw shut, not volunteering any more information.

Greven's mother stepped forward, giving her husband a none too loving glance. "I'm Hanna. Its an honor to have you here, Miss Schala."

"The honor is all mine." Schala bowed professionally. Greven smiled a little. He might have never seen it before, but it was obvious that Schala had inherited Vigo's political savvy.

Then, several sets of eyes began peering around the corners of the cave. Greven viewed them through troubled eyes of his own. His mother noticed, and beckoned back into the cave. "Hey, you all come out and meet your older brother." Two kids barely old enough to walk immediately ran forward and fixed themselves to Greven's legs. The four or five others slowly advanced in a delta like formation, a boy looking to be about ten at their head.

"Well this is weird." He said in a surprisingly friendly voice. "I'm used to being the oldest around here."

"Well, get un-used to it. I probably won't be staying..." Greven trailed off, aware that he'd just contradicted what he'd been telling himself nearly half his life. Vuel smiled. "..but the second oldest of us," he momentarily paused again, getting the feeling for the implications of that word, "may be coming here very soon."

"Who is he?" Three young voices piped up. Greven laughed.

"Why don't I tell you over dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Whaddya mean? There isn't any food!"

Shaking his head and laughing, Greven pointed to where Schala stood with the crates of supplies. They all walked off into the cave, Vuel sulking along behind.

Schala regarded their retreating forms for a long time. Hearing Greven laugh, now that was something. She didn't recall ever hearing the sound before. As hesitant as he had been at first, it was obvious that he had wanted someone to do this for him for a long time. Greven might have hated his father, but no matter what, it was always hard to go against your family. Schala pushed back her own issues that came flooding to the front of her mind. This was Greven's night. Thinking fast, she teleported away the common bread and meat loaf in several of the crates, replacing it with fine sirloin, wine, some of the cooks' special bread, and some condiment whose name she couldn't pronounce, but knew to be very good. 'Hey Schala, bring in some of that food. Mom wants you to eat with us!' Greven shouted unnecessarily loud into her mind. Schala hurried to obey.

.

That night, in the dining room reserved for important dignitaries, at the table reserved for royalty and the Gurus, Janus and Dalton both sat, warily poking their dinners.

"What the hell is this stuff?!" Dalton demanded. When his fork couldn't cut through the outer skin, he angrily drew his sword and brought it down in a tight arc, only to have it bounce off the tough, outer shell.

"Some unknown type of meat, I think." Janus gave the meat loaf a vicious stab, only to have the fork slip out of his fingers. "Someone ought to force feed this glop to the cook!"

"For once, young majesty, I completely agree with you." Dalton got up, and angrily stormed off to the kitchen.

"See if you can get dessert served early too!" Janus called, pushing his plate away. Hardly a second later, a brown cat jumped up on the table, snatched the meat loaf, and ran away. "What the? Hey! I was not eating that!" Janus jumped down to search for the cat, but it, and the meat loaf, had disappeared. "Ha! Welcome to it, cat." Janus sat back down, to wait for his dessert.

.

"Someone has to change this world, even if it means "wrong doing!" - Gafgarion


	11. Crossing the Rubicon

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 11**

**Crossing The Rubicon**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala shuddered as she went up the stairs to the left tower of the Zeal Palace. After several weeks of back breaking work, the Mammon Machine was ready. It had taken many long hours to complete, and Schala wished she had a few more long hours to destroy it utterly. It had taken an insane amount of Dreamstone, and although Zeal wouldn't say where the cartloads had come from every day, she was pretty sure Zeal had finally broken up what remained of the boulder Vigo had discovered those long years ago, and had them shape it into this evil machine. Even before any of Lavos' energy had even touched it, it seemed evil. Perhaps because it looked so much like Serges. Perhaps because she knew it was going to have Lavos' power in it. It didn't matter what it was, the point was that she hated it.

As she entered through another door engraved with the crest of the Mammon Machine, she saw Melchior was already in the room. "What are you doing here so early? You having second thoughts too?"

"Yes, and third, fourth, and fifth thoughts. I cannot believe we have just done this with no resistance. Zeal should be concentrating on trying to find worthwhile things for us to do, not gathering insane amounts of energy we'll never need."

"Worthwhile things?" Schala didn't know what compelled her to still offer some defense for her mother. "Such as?"

"Such as finding work for all my men." Belthasar said, coming into the room. "Do you know how long its been since the Explorers had a decent job? People hardly remember we exist anymore!"

"Its the same for my blacksmiths." Melchior sighed. "Except for your skyway Schala, they've had nothing to do. Zeal wouldn't trust them with the Mammon Machine."

"Its kind of funny that way." Gaspar said, being the next one in. "They're probably much more loyal to her right now than we are." They all stood in silence for a few moments. Schala was about to say something, when a black portal materialized in the room. Zeal and, surprisingly, Janus, stepped out, while Dalton lingered behind to close it.

"This is another grand day in Zeal's history!" Zeal said, sweeping her arms in an extravagant gesture.

"You can cut the theatrics mom. The audience isn't here." Schala said bitterly.

"Don't spoil my fun Schala. Heaven knows its hard enough to come by these days."

"I'd say hell knows more than heaven." Schala mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Teenagers." Zeal sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes in a manner very similar to Schala's. Schala was glad Greven wasn't here to see that. "Well, there's no point in hesitating, start it up!"

"Yes, your majesty." Gaspar said tightly. He walked over to a large panel on the wall, mumbling something that no one else could hear. Then he threw several large switches up, and crossed his fingers. A red glow began to permeate the room. The connecting pipes on the Mammon Machine lit up with a brilliant red light. A light that was red and white, but somehow not pink, shot up around the base, fluctuating rapidly.

"Lavos' energy." Zeal said in a hungry voice. "Its so close. I could almost-" Suddenly, a surge rocketed up into the ceiling, throwing her backwards. Gaspar looked back at the panel on the wall.

"Uh-oh. Power intake is not constant. I wonder..." As they watched, the power stopped to barely a trickle, then suddenly poured out with another surge, shaking the tower to it's foundation. "Just as I thought. The energy output matches Lavos' respiration."

"Meaning what?" Zeal asked unhappily.

"When he breathes in, the power output shuts down. When he breathes out, the energy he puts out increases dramatically." They all jumped as another surge rocketed into the ceiling.

"That's some snore!" Schala complained. "Is there any way of controlling it?"

Melchior's eyes lit up. "Walk a little closer to it Schala."

"Are you crazy?"

"Just do it. The pendant should protect you, and maybe more..." Schala didn't know what he was thinking, but she stepped closer to the diabolical device. Almost at once, the power began pulsating much more regularly. She took another step, and it converted to a constant stream of energy. Schala sensed another light source in the chamber. Looking everywhere, she finally saw it resting just below the nape of her neck.

The pendant.

It was glowing a bright ruby red. Gingerly, she lifted it up to her eyes. Those beautiful eyes seemed to reflect the light at first, then lit up with the glow themselves. "Its so bright... Just like a zodiac stone..."

"What's a zodiac stone?" Melchior blurted out.

"Shh!" Dalton and Zeal shushed him simultaneously. They both were very interested in this. Schala ignored them all. She was lost in the pulsating red light.

* * *

It was indescribable. Every pore of her body, every part of her soul, was filled with warmth. How could she have ever doubted this power? Lavos was an obvious benefit to everyone.

'Schala...'

'What?' She gasped 'Are you... Lavos?'

'Don't be insulting. And DO NOT be seduced by this power! Your mother has fallen already.'

'Who are you?'

'You once knew me as... Serges.'

'Why would I trust you?!'

'You must help Violen. You must prevent her from going the way of Atma.'

'What do you mean?!'

'You must look at your own soul for answers.'

'Why don't you just tell me what you mean?!'

'You do not understand yourself. You do not understand who or what you are. You must, if you are to succeed.'

'Leave me alone! You killed my father! You would deprive me of Lavos!'

'You must deprive yourself. You want to know why we killed Vigo? Lavos, pure and simple.'

'What?!'

'Weapons were not meant to have intelligence. Lavos granted us that, but only to confuse us. We were not summoned to fight your people, but to fight him! He turned all those on the planet's side against each other! You must break free!'

Schala concentrated very hard. He was right. Lavos had to be destroyed. Whether he was evil or not, his power was too great to be used by anyone but him. But he was practically spooning it out to all takers. 'That's right Schala. In the best case, he's gathering minions. In the worst case, he's breeding us to his taste. Now, you must realize who you are.'

'That's one thing I thought I was sure of.'

'To put it more accurately, you must realize who your soul is.'

'What the hell?'

'Look at yourself Schala. Concentrate. Meditate. What do you see?'

Schala obediently meditated. She forced herself to relax, allowing her brain to fill with images of it's own volition. She saw simple blue sky, and a cloud floating in it.

'A cloud? Signifying what?' The cloud began to change shape, eventually forming a striking S shape. 'Cloud S? What?' The S disappeared, to be replaced by empty air again. 'Air S?' The cloud reappeared, pulsating. 'Cloud Air?' The S disintegrated, only to reform a second later. 'Cloud, Air S?' The cloud pulsated, then expanded outward into a thin mist. 'What? Am I right? Hello? Aaargh! That's enough of that!'

'Its all in the timing.' Something said, but it wasn't Serges. She began hearing a dull thumping in the background. Her vision went black.

'The timing of what?'

'He's waiting...'

'Who? What is that beat?' The thumping continued.

'He's waiting for me...'

'Who are you? Who is "me?"' The thumping grew more insistent.

'You. Us. We are one. We are the same. You must recognize...'

'I don't understand at all.' She decided to go with something remotely tangible. 'Who is "he" then?' The only response she noticed was that the strange, rhythmic beat grew even louder. 'What does that beat signify? Why does it change volume, but not tempo?' At that, the beat sounded as loud as a gun shot, and a white flash blinded her momentarily, before plunging her back into darkness. 'Is that it, tempo?' She got the same reaction. 'What's so important about tempo?'

'Everything, and nothing. The soul we never travel without. You must soon find him. He is with you now, but not in the correct way. You must find him truly.'

'Tempo is a person? I... I don't understand.'

'You will now, that's the important thing. You will.' Then, the red glow was back.

'Do you understand now?' Serges was back.

'No, I'm more confused than ever.'

'But you have looked at your soul. You have definitely broken free of Lavos, which is the most important thing now. As to your confusion, just remember Schala, souls travel in packs.'

'Being that ambiguous won't help at all.'

'What you must do now,' Serges continued, ignoring her, 'is help Violen. She must not go the way of Atma. Protect her if you can. If you cannot, you must kill her.'

Schala was speech - or more accurately, thought - less. How could she protect or kill a Weapon? 'What do you mean, "the way of Atma?"'

'I cannot say. Remember what you have learned. I don't think I will get the chance to talk to you again. Farewell, and remember, you are the galaxy's greatest hope. You must not fail.'

'Don't worry. I don't plan on dying any time soon.'

'Death has very little to do with it. It hasn't stopped you before, and it won't again.' Then, he was truly gone.

* * *

Schala fainted where she stood. Melchior walked over to her, concerned. "I don't get it. She babbled something about a "zodiac stone," then collapsed." Janus walked over as well, frowning down at her still form.

"The power of Lavos in it's direct form must be very overwhelming." Zeal said. "I envy her. Hopefully, this will convince her of the benefits of Lavos' energy." Melchior saw no way that would ever happen, but he held his tongue. "Move her away, but leave the pendant there, for now. We'll adjust the wavelength later so it will be able to be moved while regulating this power." The three Gurus solemnly picked Schala up and bore her out of the room.

"I'm getting hungry." Janus complained as his stomach rumbled. Zeal made no response, engrossed in the light display of the Machine. Dalton whipped out a cloth bag.

"Here, I always carry something to eat. Never can tell when I'll be called away on assignment." At the rustling of food in the bag, a cat appeared almost out of nowhere and ran to Janus' feet, begging for a bite. Janus was about to toss it something, but then stopped and stared. "What the hell?" Dalton's eyes widened in surprise. "That cat came off of the Mammon Machine!"

"It must have been sleeping up there." Janus said in a distracted voice.

"All that power should have fried it! Or woken it up, at the very least." Dalton frowned at the machine.

"Typical cat." Janus shrugged. "Won't wake up when its being bombarded by power readings off the scale, but snaps to attention at the mere possibility of food. Look at it's fur."

Dalton picked up the cat by the scruff of the neck. It was hard to tell in the red light, but it almost looked purple. The cat, not liking it's situation, hissed at Dalton. "Hey, careful with him, you brute."

"Don't be so overprotective." Dalton said, setting the cat back down. It immediately ran to Janus, purring up a storm, obviously asking for more food. "So what're you gonna call the little beast?"

"Seeing as Lavos' energy changed his fur color, I think it should be an anagram of Lavos." Dalton just stood expectantly, while Janus wracked his brain. "How 'bout... Alfador?"

"How is "Alfador" an anagram of Lavos?" Dalton demanded.

"Hey, I can't read yet. Give me a break!" Janus said, picking up the cat protectively. Alfador, oblivious to the exchange, was trying to dig into Dalton's food bag, which Janus held at arm's length.

"Oh, you spoiled, spoiled child." Dalton said. "I'm outta here." Dalton turned to Zeal, who had apparently heard none of the exchange. Or if she had, she didn't care, so engrossed was she in the Mammon Machine's functioning. "Your majesty, shouldn't we be leaving?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." Zeal said, as if waking from a sound slumber. She groggily followed Dalton out of the chamber. Janus, not wanting to be alone with the machine, quickly left also. All that was left in the room was a large, Weapon like machine, and a small, glowing pendant. And some crumbs left by a cat in too much of a hurry to get more food than to stay and clean up what it already had. Perhaps things hadn't quite degenerated completely yet. Not quite.

.

"I want to meet you..."

"But, I'm right here."

"I know. But I want to meet... you..." - Aerith Gainsborough and Cloud Strife

.

Nanaki: For you un-scholarly types, "crossing the Rubicon" was a phrase of Thomas Jefferson. He said it at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, meaning there was no turning back from the path we had taken.

(Nanaki's note: Of course, the me of 2008 knows that Thomas Jefferson's quote was itself a reference to when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River on his way to capture Rome. At that point, Caesar really had nothing left to lose, so he decided to go for everything instead of giving up. An appropriate reference for the start of the Revolutionary War, most definitely.)


	12. The Courtship of Princess Schala

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 12**

**The Courtship Of Princess Schala**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala awoke slowly. Her head was aching, but she remembered everything that happened with surprising clarity. Unfortunately, what had actually happened was not clear. Why had Serges given her so many cryptic messages? Had that really been Serges? What about the other voice? Was it really just another aspect of herself? She felt a sharp pain in her head as a messenger read a proclamation not far from her room. "Attention, loyal subjects of Zeal! Our most gracious highness has decreed a celebration to commemorate the activation of the Mammon Machine! The festivities will begin in three hours!"

Schala was amazed. Zeal was actually trying to do something fun? Maybe public support had been down lately. That was about the only thing she could think of. Or else, maybe Zeal had not quite succumbed to Lavos yet after all. Schala shook her head, then winced at the pain. She used a small amount of magic to try to soothe it. 'Hey!' She scolded herself. 'I know someone who's a lot more soothing. Greven!' She shouted, trying to reach his mind.

'What?' He responded, a trifle cranky. He must have been in the middle of something.

'Mom is actually trying to do something for the public. The festivities start in three hours, by which I think she means dinner and dancing, and booze.'

'No booze for me thanks. I've sworn off ever since Selisha got me to chug a velvet hammer.'

'Anyway, you want to come?' She asked hopefully.

'Come to the Zeal Palace?' He sighed mentally and physically.

'There's sure to be a lot of people. If you don't dress in black, you'll probably blend into the background.'

'Meet me at Kajar in a half hour. I'll think about it.'

'I'll be there.'

.

Greven was already there when she arrived, looking nervous and impatient at the same time. His black armor fit better with the silver walls of Kajar than with the gold of Enhasa. She told him as much. "Thanks." He said absently. "I want to talk to you about some of the risks you've been taking."

"What risks?" She asked sweetly.

"Don't act all innocent! Do you recall the old Masa fable?"

"You've been talking to Masa?" She was surprised.

"No! I think "Masa" is short for something else, I don't remember. Anyway the gist of it was that this boy goes back in time to help his save his mother from a great evil, or something along those lines. He acts all tough about it, but in the end, the mother ends up defending her wounded son, and the power she uses up considerably shortens her life span."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Think about it for a second."

"Since when did you get all intellectual? Anway, time travel is impossible."

"You're avoiding the issue. My point was this: In nearly every epic story in our culture, all these tough warrior types go after some great evil. And also in nearly every story, its the woman who dies to defeat the evil."

"You think I'm going to die to get rid of Lavos?"

"Its quite possible. I'm the tough warrior type, you're the courageous woman. Look at all the risks you've taken already. You'd be in a ton of trouble if everything you've done was exposed to the public."

"Dalton is the only one who knows."

"So you'll end up dying to get rid of Dalton."

"Quit being so morbid!" She scolded him. "You've been having bad dreams lately, or something, but I'll be all right." Greven said nothing in return. He just stood for a minute, brooding.

"I'm sorry." He said at length. "I'm just worried about you, and us."

"Hey, if there's anyone who can handle all the troubles in the kingdom, its us, right?"

"True. I'm just worried that we can't handle it."

"We will. And you need to lighten up. Speaking of that, are you coming up to the palace or not?"

"You still want me to after what I said huh?" She nodded. "All right, but I need to go incognito. Call Ertai. He'll know what to do." Schala called Ertai mentally, and instantly, Greven's armor disappeared. It was replaced by dark blue pants, and a gold shirt with blue sleeves. Some unseen force slicked back the locks of hair hanging down in his eyes.

'You're gonna have to bring him back, Schala. I'm going down to Algetty!' Ertai's voice said excitedly.

'Good luck Ertai. Try to have fun.'

'You can count on that. Especially if Selisha has any younger sisters!' Then, he broke contact.

Schala looked up at Greven. He looked pretty different, but was still recognizable. "There's something missing..." She said. She reached up, and put a finger on the corners of his mouth, forcing him to smile. Now he seemed to be a completely different person. She looked up at him proudly, then embraced him. "Thank you."

"Its nothing. Besides, you went out of your way for me not too long ago." They stood that way for a minute, and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly. For a moment, he wished he could hear that sigh with her resting beside him in bed. But then she looked up at him, and the innocence he saw in her eyes banished all thoughts of that type from his head.

"What? That smile is gone already!" Schala scolded him. "Remember to keep a cheerful face on, its your best defense. Shall we go?"

"Let's shall, Schala." He smiled, but didn't feel that happy.

.

Dalton wore an angry expression as he patrolled the halls. He had never understood the purpose of social gatherings. It just made people forget their duties, and he could see no good side to that. Maybe he ought to go threaten Schala again. Yes, that would cheer him up. He was very lucky that there was such animosity between Schala and the Queen right now, otherwise Schala could have him imprisoned in an Algetty dungeon in a second. But until something changed, the Queen would accept his word over hers, and she knew it. Schala had not even brought up the previous incident. When he arrived at her room, he was surprised to find no one there. Surely the girl hadn't actually gone to the dance!

He passed by the large ballroom, just to check. To his amazement, Schala was in there, dancing, WITH someone. His jaw dropped. Then he carefully eyed Schala's dancing partner. He had a typical Zealian appearance. He was smiling with a wry grin, talking quietly to Schala. Other dancers obscured his view. Well, some lucky Zeal resident had gotten to dance with the princess. Dalton had thought that she wouldn't even think of doing something without Greven. Suddenly, the other dancers moved out of the way, and he got a crystal clear look at them. The guy was frowning now, and Schala was saying something urgently. Something clicked in Dalton's head. It couldn't be him, could it? On the other hand, no one would expect that he would actually come to the Zeal Palace, in plain sight, no less! Soon, the band paused to take a break, and he saw Greven head toward the food line. Dalton walked over to the bar, within talking distance.

"You're lucky I don't kill you where you stand." He said, grabbing a bottle of brandy.

"You wouldn't dare kill me here." Greven returned, continuing to smile, whille cutting a choice portion of meat.

"You sound pretty sure."

"Too many people watching. Kill me right here, and nearly every resident of Zeal turns against you. They might even get a mob mentality going, and I know you couldn't kill them all before they killed you. Even if Zeal was here, their tolerance of you would drop to zero. You wouldn't be able to enforce any of your orders, and you'd have to spend months on a PR campaign."

"Its nice to see you're learning the rules of the game."

"I still say its not a game. But we're going to give you quite a challenge, all the same."

"Glad to hear it. Until then..." Dalton dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and walked off, taking the brandy with him. Immediately, Schala came over and poured herself a glass of wine.

"Going on the sauce?" He asked, smiling.

"Shut up." She said in a strained voice, then swallowed a fair portion of the liquid. "You scared the hell out of me! What were you doing talking to Dalton?"

"I didn't have much choice in the matter. He couldn't kill me here though. You shouldn't have worried."

"I suppose it would have considerably tarnished his public image, huh?" She leaned on the counter, then swallowed the last of the wine. She shivered a little as the alcohol passed throughout her body. "Don't let me have any more, okay?" She looked up at Greven with an odd expression.

"Sure." He quietly stepped between her and the bar. Her eyes seemed troubled, and out of place on that beautiful face. "God, but you're beautiful." He said out loud.

"What?" She turned to look at him, as if she hadn't been paying attention before.

"You're very beautiful. I don't tell you that enough. I guess we spend so much time being involved in all the issues around here, I don't have enough time to appreciate you." Schala's face turned red.

"Please, don't talk like that here. Mother's spies could be anywhere."

"But you do want me to talk like that later, right?"

"Of course." She whispered. "Just wait a few hours. Then we can go someplace where we can be alone."

"First you really wanted me to come here. Now you can't wait till we leave?"

"Fickle, aren't I?"

"Just one of the things I like about you." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

Her face turned red again. "Greven, stop..." But it was obvious to him, and to anyone close enough to hear them, that she did not want him to stop. He turned her around and kissed her on the lips. The music started again, and they slowly drifted back toward the center of the room. Nearly everyone wondered who Schala's mystery man was, but no one dared to actually butt in and ask.

From different parts of the room, many sets of eyes were watching. They all converged on one man, who initiated telepathic contact. 'Sir Dalton, Greven is here with Schala!'

'I know that you fool!' The mental backlash was defeaning.

'What do you want us to do sir?' The man rubbed his temple.

'Leave them alone!'

'Sir?'

'Do you have a hearing problem? Let them get more attached to each other. It will just be that much more fun ripping them apart!'

'I see sir.'

'Good. Keep monitoring them, all the same.'

'You can count on us sir.' Then, he broke the contact.

.

"I'll make your life shine!" - Delita Hyral


	13. A Meeting of Bodies

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 13**

**A Meeting Of Bodies**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

"That's it folks, time to leave." The Zealian guard in charge of security started pushing the last few dance patrons out the door. "I'm not saying you have to go home, but you can't stay here."

"Now that sounds familiar." Greven laughed, stepping out of the large room. A cleanup crew was already working inside.

"Good night, Miss Schala." The guard bowed as Schala walked out. She politely nodded in return.

"Really? From where?" She asked, smiling herself.

"Selisha's dad's bar. He'd let anyone in, but he'd close up shop at about midnight, and force us all out."

"Oh, poor baby. All the boozehounds had to leave?"

"There were other bars. But since Selisha wouldn't go to any of 'em, I never went either." Schala noticed he was now talking with some trepidation.

"Say, I want to talk to you about Selisha."

Greven groaned. "I knew it! I just knew it! Why couldn't I keep my big trap shut?" He punched the air. "Fine. What is it?"

"How much does she really mean to you?"

"Not as much as you." He said, somewhat hopefully.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, at the moment."

"We were serious, but never that much. We both saw other people, and we never planned to get married or anything like that."

"Maybe you didn't. I get the feeling she did. My question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"Well-" Greven stopped talking as he thought he heard footsteps down the hall. "We're not safe here. I need to get back to Enhasa."

"Sure. Here we go again." Schala closed her eyes, and they vanished from the hall.

.

Greven breathed in the damp night air. It helped to clear his head. He noticed the lights of Enhasa in the distance, and figured they were about a mile away. Schala obviously still wanted an answer out of him. "You were saying?" She asked impatiently. Yep, she wanted an answer.

"She's going to have to get used to the fact that I'm with you now, permanently." She still looked unsure. "Look, what do I have to do to convince you?"

"I don't know. Its partly me, too. Its just that with her, you know what she has to offer, and with me, you don't."

Greven put his hands on her face so she was looking right at him. "We linked souls, remember? You should know-"

"So that's the only reason you love me more?" Tears came to her eyes. What was she trying to accomplish? She hadn't drunken that much.

"Are you thinking about what Dalton told us?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Maybe a little. I did wonder if that was the reason why-"

"Of course not! I was severely infatuated from the moment I met you. And I was definitely in love with you when I kissed you for the first time. I'm sure of that now."

"So given your choice of ANYONE, you would pick me?"

"Of course! I don't know how you could have doubted it. Why are you asking me all this?"

She sat down on the damp ground. "I love you as much as its possible to love anyone... I think. I don't really know, since you're the first person I've felt this way about, but I believe that this is true. I was worried that you don't feel the same about me."

Greven thought he was beginning to understand. He sat down next to her on the ground. "Don't you ever doubt that Schala. I've never felt this way about anyone else either. I've said it before, and I'll say it as many times as necessary to convince you. You're beautiful, and I love you." He thought he saw her face turn red in the pale moonlight. "Hmm. You need more convincing." He was smiling now. He bent his head until he was even with Schala, and kissed her deeply. She closed her eyes, losing herself in it. They both leaned back...

Schala let out a yelp. They had laid down in a puddle. "Oh, way to ruin the moment." Schala complained, as if the puddle would care.

"Guess we better change into something dry." Greven unsuccesfully tried to wring out the back of his shirt. "Wish I had my armor on when that happened."

"Let's get back to Enhasa. Its suddenly very cold out here." Schala shivered. Greven nodded, and they began walking toward the glowing lights at a brisk pace.

.

Greven chucked his wet clothes down to the basement area of Enhasa, glad to be back in his black shorts and tank top. He sat down on the steps by his room, where Schala was changing. Into what, he didn't know, but he hadn't questioned her. "Hey Greven, can you give me a hand here?" Schala's voice drifted out to him. He hurried to comply, but then stopped. Perhaps he ought to be wearing a bit more than this when going to help undress a girl. But his armor was inside the room. Besides, he was usually wearing less than this in similar situations. There was no helping it. He opened the necessary spellbooks and walked into the room.

"Thanks, she turned to smile at him. The fabric in these robes is so heavy when its wet, I really couldn't do anything about it."

"So how can I help?"

"Just help me take it off."

"You want me to just yank the dress off you?"

"Right."

'Oh man.' Greven groaned inwardly, happily this time. Schala raised her arms, and Greven hauled the offending fabric over her head. He flung it to the floor, where her royal robes already lay in a disorderly pile. "I don't know how you can stand to have so much on at once. What you're wearing now is much better."

"I like this better too." Schala said, swinging her arms freely outside her purple tank top. "But I usually don't have much choice in the matter." She looked up at him for a moment, before she hurried over and embraced him. "I'm sorry I doubted your feelings. I must have been kind of insulting, now that I look back on it."

"Its all right. The important thing is that we love each other." Neither said any more. Schala stood on her toes, eager for another kiss. Greven was happy to oblige. As his arms went around her waist, he realized that this felt closer than they had been before. Technically, they were closer, as several layers of clothing had been removed. He didn't like where this was going, although he wasn't sure why. He was on his guard now though.

Which is why he was worried as the kiss kept going, not letting up for a second. He felt Schala begin to move him over toward... "Hold on Schala." He broke away. She looked crestfallen. "Whether you were intentionally doing it or not, well, you know where this was going, don't you?"

"You don't want me?" More tears welled up. He couldn't seem to get it right tonight.

"I'm not sure. Because-" He quickly amended, seeing the look in her eyes. "-strange for me to say, but with you, it just seems like one of those things I shouldn't spoil. I think we should actually wait until we get married."

"Greven." She stated in an unusually serious tone. "Do you actually think that, in the world we live in, it will ever be possible for us to get married?"

He stared at his toes. "No."

"The what's the problem? I need you. I love you. You shouldn't have any reservations."

"But I do. Schala, I know you seem all world wise on the outside. But your battle skill is mostly inherited from Vigo, and your public attitude is just a defense mechanism, to keep away those you don't want near you. Inside, you seem very innocent. Too innocent for me to think of doing anything with."

"Oh really?" Suddenly, the golden light in the room went out completely. Only a few beams of pale moonlight illuminated the room. "Well you better start thinking that way." Before he could say anything, she pushed him back onto the bed. "Right now."


	14. Breakthrough on the Morning After

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 14**

**Breakthrough On The Morning After**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala awoke slowly, staring straight up through bleary eyes. She could see daylight through some of the semi-patched holes in the roof. Sun was streaming in from one hole she didn't remember seeing before. The room was actually fairly bright. She stretched out where she was, savoring the new feeling of sheets against bare skin. Muscles she never knew she had ached from their prolonged use. She wished she had time for a bath, but she didn't think that was an option.

Turning on her side, she saw Greven was wide awake. He must have been watching her sleep. He smiled at her gently, but as she lightly touched on his public telepathic channels, she discovered he was under a considerable amount of stress. "Your stress levels are off the scale." She said, observing that her voice seemed to have an unusual quality. "Don't tell me you're feeling guilty already."

"How can I not? I-"

"Please, don't say what I think you're about to."

"I deflowered a virgin. That's something I've never done before, I think..."

"That is such a stupid phrase!" She said, a little angry now. "I'm not some petite flower that needed protecting! I wanted, you gave! Pure and simple!"

Greven sighed. "I was definitely not used to being in the submissive role. What brought that on anyway?" He got up, picked up his clothes from where they had fallen on the floor, and started to get dressed.

"We're in love, and the situation was right." He still seemed unhappy. "You didn't hurt me, you know."

"What do you mean?" He asked, although he had a good idea.

"Everyone who's responsibilty it was to talk to me about this, said that the first time would be painful. There was no avoiding it. But it wasn't."

"Guess all the practice pays off." He smiled to himself, falling back on an Earthbound phrase.

"Hmm. Yes." Schala got out of bed and began to get dressed herself. "So how was I?" She couldn't help asking.

Greven slipped on his tank top and opened the door to go eat breakfast. "There must be something special about magic-using women." Then he left. Schala smiled, until she realized he hadn't really answered her at all.

.

Schala and Greven were both eating breakfast at a table a little bit away from the main dining area, when there was a bright flash, and Ertai was back. "Yea-ah!!" He shouted, stretching the word into two syllables. "Algetty rules! Dad's a jerk, but mom is cool, and so is everyone else!"

"Glad you had a good time." Greven commented, not taking his eyes off Schala.

"Yeah. The third born, Vhati, showed me around. Selisha even stopped to talk to me for a few minutes. She must have remembered your descriptions of me. And man, she is HOT! Er, no offense Schala."

"None taken." She said absent mindedly, still looking at Greven.

"Heeeey. What's going on here?" He asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing." They said in unison, smiling at each other.

"Well, I guess-" Ertai was interrupted as a telepathic message screamed into his mind. Schala winced too.

'Princess Schala! Please come to the Zeal Palace immediately!!'

"That sounded like Gaspar!" Schala exclaimed, actually paying attention.

"And he said "please," so it couldn't be Dalton trying to fool you." Ertai pointed out.

"Guess I'd better go." She started to run for the door, before she realized she was still only wearing her tank top and tight pants. "Maybe I'd better change first." She grimaced.

"You'll be fine." Greven assured her. Ertai expected Schala to contradict him, but instead she just smiled and teleported away. What was going on between those two?

.

Schala arrived at the main entrance to the palace, and, spying nothing unusual, proceeded to the throne room. The chamber immediately outside was nearly filled with guards, and apparently for good reason, as they were barring Dalton from going inside. "This is an outrage! You say I'm not allowed in? On whose orders?"

"On all three of the gurus'." A guard answered nervously, pushing him back.

"And mine too!" Schala added, seeing Dalton about to argue the point.

"Ah, Miss Schala! We've been expecting you. Go on in please." Dalton's face turned red with rage, but he stormed off. Schala shivered as always as she stepped up to the crest of the Mammon Machine, but she soon forgot about that as she saw the scene inside.

She jumped as the door closed behind her, but paid little attention. The three gurus were gathered around the throne, where Zeal sat. Schala thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, because she saw two Zeals. One solid, sitting almost stone still on the throne. A second was transparent, fidgeting in pain, but also sitting on the throne. "Schala..." The transparent queen called weakly, seeing her daughter. "You have to help me..."

"What's going on here?!" Schala demanded of the gurus.

"Schala, we've been doing a lot of research on Lavos lately." Melchior started.

"He's taken control of me." The ghost like Zeal said in a strained voice.

"We finally managed to isolate the specific wavelength it uses to control human thought." Belthasar continued.

"And now we've made a breakthrough. We've managed to block that wavelength from your mother's psyche." Gaspar smiled thinly. "But we don't know how long it will last, and as you can see, the effect wasn't what we would have liked."

"Let me talk to her..." Zeal stretched her hand out.

"Come gentlemen, let's egress." Belthasar gestured, trying to lighten the mood. The three gurus left the throne room.

"Schala, I have to apologize." Zeal started.

"Mother, is it Lavos that's been acting like such a jerk lately? Not you?"

"Like I said, he's taken control of me. I'm powerless against this kind of mind control. No, not that even. I can still think, I just can't act on my own will. Its more like he's taken control of my soul."

"So you've heard all that attitude I've been giving you lately? I'm sorry."

"I deserve it." Zeal shook her head. "I deserve a lot worse. Especially for how I've allowed that Dalton weasel to gain power." She remained silent for a moment. "You have to kill Lavos."

"What?" Schala couldn't believe the words that sounded like music to her ears.

"Land the continent. Then kill him. He's too dangerous. You know all the hell he's been causing lately? Well he's still asleep! He can never be allowed to wake up, never!" Zeal almost collapsed, then she drew a ragged breath. "If you can't, land the continent anyway. Disconnect us from his power. If I'm still in his control, kill me!" Schala gasped. "Maybe its hard to hear, but its necessary. You'll be a better ruler than I ever was. Vigo's blood flows strongly in your veins. I'm proud of you..."

"We're working on the Lavos problem already." Schala ignored her mother's last few sentences. She could not imagine killing her own mother.

"Who's we?" Zeal asked. "Oh, you must mean that Greven Vecar boy." Then she looked at Schala quizzically, like her old self. Schala smiled a little. "Where are the rest of your clothes?" And then Schala gulped. "So, you and Greven are an item?"

"You could say that." Schala admitted.

"Do you love him?" Schala felt odd having this conversation.

"Yes. I'm sure of it."

"That's great. My daughter's in love with a wanted criminal!" Zeal laughed. "Ah, its good that you found someone to support you though. These are difficult times." Then she looked up, totally serious, with pained eyes. "Be very careful Schala. When this wears off, I'm probably going to try to kill him. And maybe even you..."

"Lavos is that brutal?"

"Yes. He's willing to do just about anything, from what I've experienced." Suddenly, the transparent Zeal began flashing, and the solid one on the throne began to stir. "Its... starting! He's... coming... for me! Kill Lavos... Schala! Kill Lavos!!" The gurus rushed back into the room at her voice.

"Lavos is forcing his way back in!" Gaspar shouted. "He's modified his wavelength!"

"So block it again!" Schala shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We can't. Not without more research." Melchior said grimly. On the throne, the transparent queen was fighting with all her might to stay free, to no avail. The glowing soul was finally absorbed back into the body with one soul rending shriek. Now there was just one Zeal again, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"What are you all staring at?" She demanded of them. "Can't I nod off for a bit without you all gathering around?"

"Mother, do you remember anything that just happened?" Schala asked with faint hope.

"Well, I... No, it was just an odd dream." She looked around. "Where's Dalton?" They all shrugged. "Well send for him! You're all dismissed." They all left the room, disheartened, while Dalton, who couldn't have gone more than twenty feet away, ran inside.

"I'm sorry Schala. It looks like we failed." Melchior apologized.

"Not completely." She said through gritted teeth. "Now I know my mother is still in there, somewhere. Trapped inside the ugliness of Lavos. I swear, I'll free her if its the last thing I do." The gurus nodded in approval. Then she thought, 'Your days are numbered Lavos. If I have to kill you myself, your days are numbered.'

.

"I won't let you touch my mom!!"

"Augh!... Augh! I know. I can see her. She needs my help badly. Augh... Mother!!" - Tenchi Masaki

Nanaki: No, there was no quote last chapter. I felt it would ruin the moment. And anyway, there's really nothing in any Square game that has to do with that type of content. Yes, I know this chapter's quotes aren't from a Square game! They're from "Tenchi Muyo In Love," the best anime I've ever seen, with the possible exception of "Akira." If you don't see it, you might as well lapse into a coma, you're not missing anything (except SaGa Frontier, but now I'm just babbling)...

(Nanaki's note: No, you don't need to tell me how much SaGa Frontier sucks. Believe me, I know. Also, Xenogears nullified the whole statement about how there were no Square games with that type of content about six months after I wrote this chapter. To top it off, the best anime movie I've ever seen became (and has stayed) "Princess Mononoke" in December 1999. So basically, none of my original note applies anymore. I only left it for historical reasons.)


	15. Gambler's Ruin

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 15**

**Gambler's Ruin**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala woke up with a start the next morning, realizing that Zeal was standing right at the side of her bed. "Huh? Mother, what do you want?" Zeal reached down, then held up Schala's royal robes. This couldn't be going anywhere good.

"Your clothes were found, still soaked, in the bottom of the washing pile at Enhasa. What were they doing there?" Schala made no response. "Get dressed." Zeal said crossly, throwing the robes on top of Schala.

"What's this all about?" Schala asked, now angry herself.

"Just where have you been going lately? You've been spending far too much time away from the Zeal Palace."

"I've just been spending more time at our old home."

"I figured that much. Who are you going to see?" Schala remained silent. "I see. You're now confined to the palace until I say otherwise."

"The guards have to obey my orders, you know."

"That can easily be remedied."

"Fine!" Schala exclaimed, turning her back on Zeal, but then she realized something. "Wait! That doesn't mean Dalton will have authority over me, does it?"

"You should have thought of that two seconds ago, before you opened your mouth."

"But-"

"But what?"

"His administrative policies," Schala grated her teeth together, "aren't exactly the best."

"No, that's very true. But he does keep the rabble in line, and that rabble includes you at the moment."

Schala clenched her fists as Zeal left the room. This was a serious impediment to her serious relationship. She wanted to go back to Greven tonight, and she was sure he wouldn't have any objections. Immediately, she tried to teleport out of the palace, but some mysterious force kept her in. "Its just what the Weapons did to dad!" She gasped. 'Violen! Get me out of here!' But the Weapon made no response from wherever she was. She reluctantly opened contact to Greven. 'Mother won't let me leave the palace.'

'That's never stopped you before.' He said, not really paying attention.

'Yes, but this time she means business. She's sealed off my telekinetic abilities.'

'Like the Weapons did to Vigo.'

'Precisely. I can't seem to reach Violen.'

'So what are you going to do?'

'I really don't know.'

'How long will it be this way?'

'Until she says otherwise.'

'I can't wait that many years. I can barely wait as long as I have... to see you again.'

Schala blushed. 'I can't wait to see you too. But what can we do?'

'I could come over there.'

'Weren't you the one lecturing me about taking risks? That would be a huge gamble.'

'Dalton seems to want high stakes. I don't intend to dissapoint.'

'I see. You want to see me, and you want to confront him.'

'Yes. I've been training, the way you showed me.'

'Do you really think you can sneak in here?'

'I need you to report on the guard stations, to know where to go.'

'I'll get right on it.' Schala threw on the rest of her royal robes, slightly happier with the situation now. She had barely gotten to the hall though, when the palace rumbled to its foundations, and she heard the sound of engines. Rushing to a window, she saw the massive bulk of the Blackbird docking right outside. This could not be good. Why would Dalton move the Blackbird here now? He practically lived at the Zeal Palace already. Maybe he was making it official. Or maybe he didn't think he could beat Schala and Greven by himself. She didn't know whether to be flattered or frightened.

Sighing, she continued discreetly around the palace, monitoring the position of every guard. She reported them back to Greven. 'There are about forty overall. Only two at the main entrance. The rest are scattered in a sort of delta formation leading away from the entrance. There are none very close to my room, and none near any of the rear windows.'

'Is the telekinetic shield still up?'

'Yes, unfortunately.'

'So you can't teleport me in... Can you 'port me up to the roof right above your window?'

'I think I could manage that. But it is pretty steep, you know.'

'Don't worry about that. I'm strong enough.'

'Yes, you certainly are.'

'Heh, heh. So, when do you want me over?'

'Now. But you should come at midnight... no, one a.m., in case mother stays up late.'

'I'll be there.'

'Also, you should know that Dalton docked the Blackbird here.'

'What? Why?'

'I have no clue.'

'Where are the weapons pointing?' He sounded worried now.

'I can't see them from here.'

'Well look.'

She was surprised at the forcefulness of his voice. 'They're pointed forward.'

'Which direction is forward?!'

'I don't know. Toward me!' She didn't like his tone of voice.

'Get away from the window!'

'What is your problem?'

'Now, damn it!!' There was real urgency in his voice, so Schala angrily backed away. Hardly a second later, a huge blast of energy from one of the Blackbird's main cannons roared past her window. The concussion threw her back into the wall. 'Crud! I could see that from here! Schala! Schala, are you there?'

'Yes.' She replied shakily. 'How did you know?'

'It would be easy for him to claim that there was a power surge. About the most convenient accident imaginable.'

'Maybe I better leave, in case he tries again.'

'How would you leave? Anyway, I don't think he could convince Zeal that there had been two power surges in so short a space of time.'

'Can you come over now?'

'You know that's impossible. 'Port me there at one a.m.'

'Can you send Ertai?'

'Why?'

'It would be nice to have some counterespionage. He's not wanted for anything yet, so he could move around here fairly freely.'

'I'll ask him.' Schala sensed that he felt very uneasy.

'What's the matter with you now?'

'Even though we're supposedly pulling one over on the Lavos worshippers, I can't help but wonder if we aren't doing exactly what Dalton wants us to do.'

'Perhaps.' Schala said indifferently. 'But what we will do, is definitely not what Dalton will want us to do. And that's true no matter how you interpret my sentence.'

Greven laughed, mentally and out loud. 'Ah yes. Tonight is going to be something special. In many ways, most likely.'

Schala nodded. 'In many ways...'

.

"Let's say you're a gambler, and you're playing a coin-toss game. Every time the coin comes up heads, you win a dollar. Every time it comes up tails, you lose a dollar."

"Okay..."

"What happens over time?"

"The chances of getting either heads or tails is even. So maybe you win, maybe you lose. But in the end, you'll come out at zero."

"Unfortunately, you don't. If you gamble long enough, you'll always lose--the gambler is always ruined. That's why casinos stay in business. But the question is, what happens over time? What happens in the period before the gambler is finally ruined?"

"Okay. What happens?"

"If you chart the gambler's fortunes over time, what you find is the gambler wins for a period, or loses for a period. In other words, everything in the world goes in streaks. Its a real phenomenon, and you see it everywhere: in weather, in river flooding, in baseball, in heart rhythms, in stock markets. Once things go bad, they tend to stay bad. Like the old folk saying that bad things come in threes. Complexity theory tells us the folk wisdom is right. Bad things cluster. Things go to hell together. That's the real world."

"So what are you saying? That things are going to hell now?"

"They could be..." - Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding

.

"It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, because you are definitely going to lose." - Dave Barry

.

Nanaki: As you all can see, I've totally abandoned my policy of only quoting from RPGs. Which brings up my point. All of you send me your most meaningful quotes. They can be from Final Fantasy Tactics, or Savage Garden lyrics, or even something you made up yourself. The one I find most meaningful, or that carries the most powerful message, will be showcased in the chapter where the Black Omen is destroyed, along with the name or alias of whoever sent it in. So get busy people. I'll be waiting.

(Nanaki's note: Needless to say, since this story was finished ten years ago, the little quote contest is long over. Now, of all the bands I could have mentioned, why the hell did I choose Savage Garden? I think they were on the radio a lot in my high school weight room, but even so...)


	16. Hell Battle 1: Dalton vs Greven

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe**

**Hell Battle 1: Dalton Vs. Greven**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Greven had to try hard to avoid shouting in surprise when the roof of the tower appeared a good distance below him. He couldn't help grunting as the impact of connecting with the roof knocked the wind out of him. As he tried to slow his roll toward the edge, tiles flew where his fingers dug them up. He finally got a good hold just as most of him went over the edge, and he was slammed forcefully against the wall. He scaled down the wall until he was just outside Schala's window. He had thought about complaining, but somehow her darkened room seemed more inviting than the rest of the palace, which maintained a low glow at night. 'I'm here.' He thought softly into the warm darkness.

'I'm waiting...'

.

Out on the roof, Dalton grinned. His bug was working perfectly. Oh, what foolish, foolish prey he had. It was a good thing he had put a physical and telepathic damping field on Schala's room, or they would have given themselves away long since. Of course he hadn't really expected his trick with the Blackbird to work. That would have been disappointing. But now, the time was almost right. Just a little longer...

.

Ertai grimaced from his perch on the opposite tower. He could see that Dalton was on the roof of the tower, right above Schala's room. He couldn't really see what Dalton was doing, but it couldn't be good. He didn't know why Schala had asked Greven to come to the Zeal Palace in the middle of the night either, but they must be doing something important. He had to warn Greven. He reached out with telepathic contact and - whoah! He wasn't touching either of those minds again as long as this went on. Frustrated, he pulled a small spyglass out of his backpack, trying to get a closer look at Dalton.

A big grin was on the fiendish mage's face. "Gross! He's getting off on it!" Ertai said out loud, in disgust. But then, Dalton stood and walked back around the roof. He made an odd gesture, and a small beam of energy drifted lazily down into the palace. Then a bubble of yellow energy formed around him, exploding outward. Ertai felt himself growing sleepy, and had just enough time to secure himself to the side of the tower before he nodded off.

.

Schala lay back on her pillow, breathing contentedly. "I think I'm finally getting tired."

"Me too." Greven said, frowning. "And that's not normal."

"No, I suppose not. But its fine." Suddenly, a telepathic cry filled her head.

'Schala! Something's wrong!'

'Janus? What's the matter?'

'Well, a few minutes ago, your head was filled with stuff I don't understand at all.'

Uh oh. She was glad he hadn't understood. 'Never mind that now. What's the trouble?'

'I had a terrible dream. But from what you described, it might be a premonition.'

'Hold on, I'll be right there.' She turned to Greven. "Janus is having bad visions. I need to go talk to him."

"Go ahead. I'll just hang out here."

Schala paused halfway out of the covers. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather just go back to Enhasa now?"

"I'll be fine. Go." Schala didn't put up any further resistance. She threw on a night gown and was out the door. Greven sighed. He sometimes wished Schala and Janus weren't so close. But then, for all intents and purpose, Schala was a mother to Janus, as Zeal certainly wasn't. If he needed her, Greven shouldn't feel any resentment. After all, he had her in a way that no one ever had before.

A cold wind was blowing in the window. He got up to close it, but changed his mind when he got there. Tasting the wind, he grimaced. 'Something isn't right.' He thought to himself. 'I should leave.' Leave? Was he crazy? He was much safer in here than anywhere else in the Zeal Palace. But his intuition had never failed him before. He quickly put his clothes on, hesitated for a second, and then buckled up his armor. 'Am I insane?' He asked himself as he opened the door, but he ventured into the darkness anyway.

.

"Its time." Dalton's grin threatened to break his face. He walked back along the roof, pausing just over Schala's bedroom window. He quietly leaned over the edge. He wanted one last look at the happy couple before he destroyed them utterly. Peering through the top of the window upside down, he was immensely surprised to find neither one there. "What the? Where the hell are they? They had nowhere to go!"

"Oh yes we did!" Before Dalton could move, he felt himself flying forward, landing almost face first on the hard floor of the room. Turning to face his assailant, he saw none other then Greven Vecar stading by the window, decked out in full battle gear.

"How did you know I was there?"

"I didn't. It was luck, pure and simple."

"Well your luck has finally run out!" Dalton charged at Greven angrily. Greven sidestepped his clumsy blow, grabbed his arm, and twisting around on his heel, threw Dalton out the window. The wizard was smashed into the wall of the tower below, and Greven promptly let him fall. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. A second later, Dalton came flying back into the room. Greven backed away as far as he could in the close quarters. Dalton cast a small fire spell, and Greven ducked to the floor as the blast roared over his head. He quickly jumped up as jagged icicles tore through the floor, sending stone flying in all directions. A lightning bolt blazed past his head, coming close enough to make his hair stand on end.

"So that's the way its going to be huh? Let's see how you like the feel of holy!" Greven unleashed five small streams of energy from each hand. They spun in all directions, first shattering the ice, then centering and coursing through Dalton's body. Dalton grunted, then unleashed a small Shadow explosion that sent Greven flying into the wall. Dusting himself off, Greven quickly stood up, and a jagged looking holy explosion erupted from the stone under Dalton's feet.

The mage held his head woozily, but then cast a much larger fire spell. Greven couldn't avoid this one, and he pulled into his armor as much as he could. Greven unleashed an unwavering beam of power that smashed Dalton into the opposite wall, leaving a fairly noticeable dent. But Dalton counterattacked with a barrage of spells that sent Greven sprawling to the floor. 'Something is missing here. My powers aren't... pure enough. I have to concentrate, like Schala was showing me...'

As explosions raged around him, Greven slowly rose to his feet, oblivious to the destructive energy. Dalton was surprised, but used this to his advantage. He launched a razor sharp icicle strait at Greven's heart. Amazingly, it pushed him back into the wall, but did not penetrate his armor. Greven barely noticed the blow. Angry now, Dalton cast a huge Shadow explosion that enveloped half the room. Greven walked slowly out of the enveloping darkness, completely unscathed. "What? This is impossible!"

"Not impossible," Greven now looked him straight in the eye, "but Holy!!" With that word, a huge bolt of energy launched from Greven's chest. It was a rippling mixture of white, blue, and green. It rammed into and passed through Dalton, leaving him gasping on the floor. Greven had a smile on his face, until he had to jump out of the way as a huge iron orb smashed into the floor. As Greven rolled out of the way, Dalton jumped forward, unsheathing a sword in mid leap. Greven drew his own sword just in time to parry the blow. As Greven strained against Dalton's surprising strength, he slowly rose to his feet on straining legs. "Why... do you hate us so much?" He grunted.

"You'll never live to know." Dalton grinned fiercely, increasing the pressure on his sword. Greven staggered back, then kicked out with his foot as he fell. Dalton jumped forward, only to find his face colliding with Greven's fist. It was his turn to stagger back. Greven grinned and kicked Dalton in the groin. Then as the mage bent over, he stood up and kicked Dalton's forehead. The mage crashed to the ground, and Greven swung down with his sword. Dalton rolled away fairly quickly, but Greven did manage to carve up a small piece of his shoulder, and blood ran down Dalton's cape.

Dalton moved his left arm painfully, but he still wielded his sword with skill. The two parried each others' blows back and forth across the room. Greven jumped forward, swinging his sword in a tight arc that allowed him to defend while bringing the sword back up to a ready position. Dalton's sword nearly flew from his fingers as the second blow caught him completely by surprise. Pressing the advantage, Greven scored a glancing blow on Dalton's wounded shoulder, sending more blood flying. Dalton was forced to let go with his left arm, and Greven's next vicious upward slice sent his sword flying from his fingers. Greven lifted his sword high and charged, but Dalton managed to duck out of death's way. His rich cape was caught by the sword, pinning him to the wall.

Not bothering to take the time to remove his sword, for that would free Dalton and give him time to cast a spell, Greven rushed up and punched him square in his right eye. Because Dalton's head was already against the wall, there was nowhere for the kinetic energy to go. The sound of Dalton's skull fracturing was plainly audible. As Greven removed his fist, he saw that a sharp section of Dalton's forhead had slid down, stabbing deep into his eye. Blood flowed very freely, and Dalton couldn't help screaming. If he didn't heal himself, he would die very soon. Greven definitely wouldn't mind that, but he needed some answers first. He yanked his sword out of the wall, and Dalton fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. Next, a healing light fell on him. His head returned to it's normal shape, although Greven was glad to see the eye was damaged seemingly past repair.

Giving Dalton no time to regain full fighting strength, Greven picked him up and smashed him against the wall, only now realizing that two of his own knuckles were broken. "I want some answers here, and I want them now! Why do you hate Schala so much?!"

"I'm never talking!" Dalton spat. Greven punched him in the same place again, though not as hard this time. Dalton screamed with the pain. "All right!" Greven let up the pressure on his shoulders a little. "Have you ever heard of the kingdom of Besroda?"

"I have some vague recollections."

"It was crushed by Allegan over 300 years ago. The Alleganians thought they had wiped it out completely. They were wrong." Greven relaxed a little now. He thought he knew where this was going. "Some of my ancestors survived, by finding shelter with some Alleganians who actually had a sense of fair play. They were Belthasar's ancestors, I believe. Ever since that time, my family has sworn to rid the world of the royal Alleganians, but we have failed. I let Schala live this long because she wasn't much of a threat. But now that you two seem to be on the road to producing yet another cursed generation of the Alleganian royal family, I decided I needed to act."

"Allegan is gone, you fool. Its a whole different world now!"

"Nothing lasts forever. Including this kingdom. I must make sure that the Alleganians don't rule the world in the future!" Dalton bowed his head, and looked out the window. "And now that I've delayed you a fatal length of time, I'll be going." Dalton pushed his way out of Greven's grasp.

Greven let him go, but only to stop and pick up his sword. "Actually, now that you've answered my question, your time is up." Dalton turned back, looking at him in an odd way through his one good eye. "Its time to die, Dalton."

Greven's flesh began to creep when Dalton merely smiled in response. "Yes," he nodded, "it is."

Then a huge blast of fire rushed into the room, smashing Greven through the outside wall next to the window, and into the open air below, where the Blackbird's cannons were waiting.

.

"Now we must fight. Eeaaaaaagghhh!!" - Ramza Beoulve


	17. Hell Battle 2: Greven Vs Zeal

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe **

**Hell Battle 2: Greven Vs. Zeal**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Greven felt the shot from the Blackbird cannon miss him by a few feet, at most. It superheated a part of his armor, and he winced as molten metal fused onto his skin. He dug his gloved hand into a niche in the wall, nearly tearing his arm out of it's socket as he stopped his descent. As if Dalton had realized he had missed, a sort of force bubble surrounded him, dragging him back up to Schala's room. He wondered why Schala hadn't heard the commotion and come running, but then, there were dozens of possible reasons, none of them good.

As he was pulled back into the room, he was very surprised to see Zeal manipulating the force bubble. "Greven Vecar, I presume?" She asked sweetly, before sending the bubble spinning wildly in midair. She cancelled the spell, and Greven landed on his head.

"That's me all right." He said calmly, rubbing his neck. "Why'd you interefere in me and Dalton's business?"

"I didn't. I just have some of my own things to talk to you about." Greven gave her a piercing stare. "All right." She blew a strand of hair out of her face. Greven was horrified at the resemblance to Schala. "Dalton probably deserves whatever you would have given him, but I can't afford to lose such a valuable servant." Then, a field of electricity encased Greven. Bolts arced into him from a central point about two feet in the air. He growled in frustration, writhing on the floor.

"No!! I have to kill him!" He gritted his teeth, but could not manage to stand up. Zeal gestured again, and a tornado funnel smashed him into the ceiling, then let him drop to the floor.

"What did I just tell you? Now, I have some matters to discuss with you."

"Go screw yourself!" He shouted, trying desperately to stand.

"Spirited. That was in the report." Zeal said calmly. "Now then, it would seem that you have violated my daughter."

"Violated? What do you mean? I love her!"

"You probably do. But still, you use her for your own ends."

"I would never!" He managed to rise to a kneeling position.

"You men are all alike! You all use people, without even realizing it! Karak used me to get power. Even Vigo used me, to satisfy his need for a companion, and physical gratification. Yes, those count as ends. And you're using Schala, for all three of those reasons, probably."

"How can you say any of that? Vigo was a great man! And by your definition, Schala is using me for those same reasons! Its a two way trade."

"Ha! I doubt that. And even if you're right, it won't stay that way. You're going to get her pregnant, if you keep this up."

"So what? I love her. I would be there for her. Its not exactly like you don't have the resources to raise a child." Greven finally stood up, rubbing his many bruises.

"That's not the point! My daughter doesn't deserve that kind of pain. You have no idea what its like, do you?"

"No. But she's not like you. It would be worth it to her."

"Quit talking like you know her!"

"I know her a lot better than you ever did or ever will!!"

"That's the problem. No!! You will not put my daughter throught he horrible pain of childbirth!!" Zeal screamed. She unleashed a huge lightning bolt that smashed Greven hard into the outside wall. Pieces of the wall cracked and fell outward as he sat gasping for breath.

"Forgive me for this, Schala." He whispered, before he jumped up and smashed Zeal into the opposite wall with a huge purple holy blast. She cried out in surprise. "You filthy Lavos worshipper! Your reign of terror stops here!" Greven raised his sword and charged. Dalton, who had been standing to the side, now stepped forward to interecept his blow. Greven ran him through, not stopping until his sword was buried up to the hilt in Dalton's flesh. He yanked the bloody blade out and hurled Dalton to the side. Dalton began to chant a healing spell while he was coughing blood. Greven turned back to Zeal, but too late. A razor sharp icicle stabbed deep into his armor, drawing a fair amount of blood.

"Reign of terror? Ha!" Zeal laughed scornfully. "As I recall, your original death sentence was for terrorism! Its time that sentence was carried out!" She aimed a powerful lightning bolt straight at the open wound. The heat actually cauterized it, but not before doing significant damage. Greven roared in pain and rage. Concentrating deeply, he once again invoked Holy. Zeal was thrown back into the wall, where she collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. Greven brought his sword up and charged forward. Before he could swing down, Dalton's beat up hand grasped his.

"Why won't you die?!" Greven yelled. He swung his sword in a vicious horizontal chop that nearly clove Dalton in half. The wizard screamed and dropped to the floor, murmuring healing spells while he crawled away, leaving an ugly trail of blood. Greven turned back toward Zeal, too late once again. He was mowed down as two rainbow colored shadow beams crashed into him, rending gaping holes in his armor. He threw holy arcs of all shapes and sizes from various vectors, followed by one monstrous purple beam.

Zeal had set up a shield this time, and nothing got through. They traded spells back and forth, circling each other warily. "I grow tired of this." Zeal said. Greven ducked as she cast Dark Matter, but the two triangles hovered in midair, then fused together to become a light hexagon.

'I remember what Schala said about this.' He thought. He turned to run, but there was nowhere to go in the small room. A small lightning explosion started in the center of the room, and the hexagon of light shot into it. The raging blue explosion that followed finally caused the weakened outer walls to blow out of the tower. Greven closed his eyes as the destructive energy surrounded him.

Then the roaring in his ears stopped. He looked up, surprised. He felt awful, but he was still here! Zeal looked at him wickedly, and prepared another spell. Her smile faded fast when nothing happened. "Your wavelength all used up?" Greven achingly got to his feet. "Good." A very unhappy expression formed on Zeal's face as an incredible energy of Holy was thrown at her. She screamed as the blue and green ripples passed through her, and then, incredibly, circled around and hit her again! Greven had used up his wavelength now too, but it was worth it. Zeal was practically finished.

He raised his sword once again and charged with all his remaining strength. "For everyone you've ever wronged!" He shouted, as the blade, unwavering, drew close to her heart.

And then he stopped dead in his tracks as something attached to his chest. He felt an incredible heat burning his face. Looking down, he saw a stream of lava flowing from the floor, up to his chest. It almost seemed to be an arm, and it's fingers were wrapping around him. He grimaced as the heat began to melt his armor, and tried to squirm free. "What is this thing?!" He demanded, slicing at it with his sword. In one last burst of strength, he broke free, and made one last charge toward Zeal.

As the sword neared her heart again, he suddenly felt unbearable heat on his arm, and then it was gone. So was his arm. The brief second of relief was followed by incredible pain as blood poured out of the now empty socket. His stomach turned at the smell of burning flesh, and he saw the blackened remains of his arm being tossed away by the lava. Greven staggered forward a few steps. "Zeal!!" He reached out threateningly with his left arm. "I'll get you if its the last thing I do!!"

"This will be the last thing you do." She said with a wicked grin. "But you're not going to get me." Then the lava reared up in front of her, smashing into him, covering him much more thouroughly than last time. He felt the skin on his chin burning, his sweat pores working overtime, to no avail. Molten metal began to drip in his suit, and he screamed. "Aaauuugh!! You'll pay... Aaauuugh!!.. for this!!"

"I doubt it." Zeal's smile did not waver. "Nothing can withstand the power of Lavos!"

The lava began to ripple, slowly spreading upward towards his face. "Aaaaauuuuuggghhh!! Schala!" He screamed mentally and physically. But he felt a telepathic shield around the room. And then he was in serious pain, as molten metal and lava began to roast his bare skin.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

.

Ertai finally woke up on the side of the tower. Scanning quickly, he saw that a whole side of Schala's room had been blown outward. Greven might need some help. He didn't hear anything, but it was obvious a battle had taken place. 'What a time to fall asleep!' He scolded himself. Using the grappling ropes he had strapped himself in with, he quickly swung over toward the other tower.

.

"What was that?" Schala looked up from Janus' bedside. Not hearing anything else, she turned back to him. The boy was holding his head in his hands, stirring restlessly from one sitting position to another.

"Something terrible is about to happen!" He gasped. "To you, Schala, and maybe to... to..."

"What? Janus, can you see?"

"I... I... Aaaugh!!" He screamed, passing out on the bed. Schala stood up, looking around. There was nothing to... Suddenly, she was hit with a gust of black wind so strong she nearly broke down in tears. She collapsed to her knees. Then, she quickly stood up again. If something bad was about to happen, she'd better get Greven out of here. Tucking Janus back under the covers, she walked quickly back toward her room.

As she was passing the dining hall, she started to smell something funny. 'That's odd. Maybe the cook is burning the last of that meat loaf.' She guessed, then continued on. But her anxiety heightened as the smell got stronger the closer she got to her room. 'That's no meat loaf...' She sniffed with distaste. Her stomach began to feel unsettled. As she finally reached the entrance of her room, she got a very bad feeling in her gut.

The outer wall was gone. Zeal was leaning against the left wall, smiling. Dalton was also lying against the wall with his eyes closed, looking much the worse for wear. As she took another shaky step, Ertai came flying into the room from somewhere above, and his jaw dropped. Schala could hardly bear to take the final step inside, but she did. As she turned her head slowly, she saw the twisted pile of burnt flesh and twisted metal that might once have been human.

And then she screamed.

.

"So gently, you touched my heart... I will be forever yours..." - Celes Chere

"Now fight! Fight with all your might!" - Rubicant


	18. Battle Royal: Zeal Vs Schala

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe**

**Battle Royal: Zeal Vs. Schala**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

"GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNN!!"

Schala and Ertai cried out in unison. "Well, I'm glad that little phase is finally over with." Zeal said. "Now that filthy animal is out of your life, so you can get back to what's really important." Zeal turned to leave. Schala's arm jerked out with surprising strength, stopping her in her tracks.

"How could you do this?! He was my Vigo!!" Schala could barely control her rage.

"Don't be silly. That insolent peasant was nothing like your father."

Jumping back, Schala ripped her dagger out of it's scabbard. "You... You, have just made the biggest mistake of your life!!" They stood, glaring at each other, when Ertai burst out.

"Nooooooo!! The wavelength she used! Its impossible to bring him back!"

Zeal nodded. "That's pretty much correct. Without Lavos' energy, he's gone for good."

Schala sank to her knees. "He's really gone. Forever..."

"That's right. I'd never waste the power to bring him back."

Schala sprang back up again, twirling her dagger in her fingers. "Ertai, charge up the dagger and get out of here!"

"No way!" He came up and stood beside her. "I have as much right to avenge him as you do!"

"You have to survive! You have to protect your family! Now go!" Ertai glared up at her, incredibly angry, but in the end, he disappeared with a white flash just as a lightning bolt struck Schala's dagger.

"Schala, you really must calm down." Zeal said tiredly. "That boy has done nothing wrong. There was no reason to send him away."

Dalton coughed and slowly stood up. "You're overreacting. We did this for your own good."

"Shut up, you hypocrite!" Schala jumped forward. She stabbed the dagger deep into Dalton's chest, letting some of the electricity flow into his body. "Greven came so close to killing you, it would be a shame not to follow through." She forced her arms upward, and Dalton slid off the dagger and went flying through the air, to land hard on the other side of her bed.

As he looked up, the blasted remains of Greven's skull seemed to be laughing at him. "Shhhut up!" He cried, punching the skull of off the vertebrae, where it shattered on the floor. He invoked yet another healing spell, realizing this was the last of his energy. If he was going to be of any help in this battle, he would have to wait for an opportune moment...

"Schala, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take some disciplinary action against you..."

"Don't you get it Lavos?!" Schala spat, slicing the air with her dagger so the blood flew off. "I have to avenge him!" Suddenly, Zeal's earlier words came flooding back to her.

"If I'm still in his control, kill me!"

She couldn't have imagined doing it then, but now, she had no reservations. "I am going to kill you and run the burning remains of your intestines up the flagpole outside!!" Schala screamed a tortured, feral scream, and a small, intense beam of holy energy hit Zeal right between the eyes.

"So, you force me to teach you a lesson. Very well." A huge lightning bolt raced toward Schala, but she just thrust her dagger forward and absorbed it. "Oh, very courageous Schala."

Schala was so angry that the stupid taunt actually worked. She shoved the dagger back in it's scabbard, rainbow colored beams of Shadow energy flying from each hand. Zeal grunted with the blow, then returned fire with Flare. Schala screamed, then jumped through the heart of the explosion with a huge holy blast. She jumped back as several sharp icicles flew at her, but one stabbed deep into her abdomen anyway, in almost the exact same spot the golem had hit.

Suddenly, the roof shook, and a meteor came crashing down, landing on top of Zeal. Before either of them could do anything else, there was a different kind of rumbling, and a shot from the Blackbird impacted into the middle of the room, rending a huge hole in the floor. They were both thrown backward, dazed.

.

"What was that?" Gaspar asked, looking up from his work table. Spekkio shrugged. "It sounded big." He strained his ears again. "It came from Schala's room. I wonder what..." He sniffed the air, smelling a great many things burning. "Spekkio, grab some of those Stop devices and follow me." Gaspar hurried out the door. Spekkio picked up three of the egg shaped objects and hurried to follow.

.

Zeal stood up, looking at Schala, who was still sitting on the floor, grimacing. "A timely intervention. A little longer, and someone might have gotten hurt."

"You did hurt me." Schala said softly. "More than you can possibly imagine." Then, the true Holy spell launched from her chest, ripping through Zeal with violent force. The Queen was lifted into the air and thrown back into the wall.

"You don't know what real pain is. Your feelings for that animal were simply imagined!" Zeal shouted, floating up in the air to summon Luminaire. The ceiling could no longer handle all the stress, and collapsed into the explosion. When the rubble cleared, Zeal saw Schala standing with the dagger held in front of her. It was now glowing brightly with energy. Zeal yelled in frustration. A barrage of spells from many different magic types surrounded Schala. She dodged the ones she could not absorb, until Zeal finally ceased the bombardment.

"Are you quite through?" Schala asked in a steely voice. A purple flame seemed to leap up in her eyes, and for a moment, Zeal was worried. An icicle flew into Zeal's midsection, tearing a fairly gaping hole through her skin. As Zeal struggled to move out of the way, Schala lifted the dagger up, and blinding, pulsating beam of multicolored energy roared into the wound, nearly blowing Zeal apart. The queen collapsed to the floor, blood flowing everywhere.

"So its true." She coughed weakly. "Your powers do exceed my own." Schala began to step forward. Zeal twitched a little. "But they can never compare to the power of Lavos!" To Schala's amazement, Zeal stood up, oblivious to her blood loss. "Lavos, my liege, grant me the power I am due." She intoned, lifting her arms high. A red glow permeated the room, and all of Zeal's wounds sealed up instantly. Crying in rage, Schala ran forward and buried the Dreamstone dagger up to the hilt in Zeal's chest.

A bright glow emanated from the wound, while Zeal tilted her head back and laughed. She yanked the dagger out easily and tossed it aside, while the wound quickly closed up. Schala realized that she should submit now. There was no way that she could defeat this Lavos incarnate. She had no idea of it's weaknesses, or even how to hurt it at all. But a quick glance back at the twisted, fried remains of Greven sent her reeling into emotional turmoil. She couldn't stop. She had to kill this monster that had killed her lover.

She punched Zeal in the face as hard as she could. Zeal hardly budged an inch. Then she grabbed Schala's arm and twisted upward, throwing Schala into the wall, where she landed upside down. Schala quickly responded with a whirlwind that would normally have tossed Zeal around the room like a rag doll, but now she just stood, unmoving.

Zeal summoned a bolt of ball lightning that struck Schala square in the chest, knocking her down and leaving her twitching on the floor. Schala jumped up, yelling in rage again. Zeal hurled yet another icicle. Schala didn't dodge fast enough this time, and the icicle passed through her left shoulder and carried her back into the wall, pinning her against it. Blood streamed down her robes, some of it freezing the icicle in place. Before Zeal could do anything else, Schala actually cast a fire spell on herself, melting the icicle, before expanding it to hit Zeal too. The heat cauterized the gaping wound, although Schala could no longer feel her left arm. She stretched her right hand out, and a mixture of fire and lightning roared into Zeal. Zeal quickly absorbed the fire, and turned it against the lightning.

While Zeal was distracted by this, Schala clumsily ran around the hole in the floor, and charged at Zeal. Hitting Zeal with her right shoulder, she managed to knock the queen to the floor. Zeal immediately jumped up, grabbed Schala by the neck, and slammed her down to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. "You are beaten." She said simply. "It would be very wise to give up now."

"Did you... give Greven the chance to give up?" Schala coughed.

"Don't be ridiculous." Zeal laughed scornfully.

"Then no! I will never give up! I'll die first! And if even if you vaporise me like you did him, my ashes will clog your lungs until you can't breathe!" Schala wearily got to her feet.

"Its not your body I need to tame, its your will." Zeal sighed. "Maybe one can lead to the other though. Let's see how cocky you feel after this!" Suddenly, a rainbow colored circle of light emanated from Zeal. As it passed through Schala, she felt as if all the energy was draining out of her body. The wound from her shoulder reopened, along with her Golem gash. Burn marks appeared at various points on her body. She couldn't figure out where they were from, until she recalled her failed attempt to defeat Serges all those years ago. It was as if every wound she had ever received had reappeared.

Schala couldn't take much more of this. She healed herself as much as possible, although she still felt weak after that spell. It seemed there was nothing that could seriously damage Zeal. Well, not quite nothing... While she had been training Greven to use the true Holy, they had come up with a very powerful light spell, although they had not actually tested it. But they had developed the exact wavelength for it. It almost seemed too powerful to be classified under light magic, so Greven recommend terming it "star." They had never decided, because Schala didn't think they'd ever have an occassion to use it. But now, it looked like this was an appropriate time. Greven had even come up with a catch phrase for it, and although Schala certainly didn't feel like saying his cocky statement, she figured she owed it to him.

"Call me old fashioned, but I've always been a believer in the "big bang" theory."

"What the hell is that supposed to..." Zeal trailed off as a bright yellow ball about four feet in diameter appeared in front of them. To her immense surprise, it slowly began to shrink, until it was nothing more than a pinpoint of light. "A failed experiment?"

"Not quite." Schala gritted her teeth. This would be quite rough on her, as well as those on the receiving end. She stretched out her hands to encompass the spark, then spread her arms outward quickly. "Eyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!"

The spark exploded outwards, enveloping her, enveloping Zeal, and the entire room, before blasting it's way outside. The huge ball of light was visible from Enhasa, and the every resident of Zeal outside at the time saw the top of the tower crumble into the explosion, where it was vaporised. The sphere of light energy finally dissipated with a huge concussion, creating a sonic boom that rocked the air all the way to Kajar.

Back amid the flaming rubble and dust clouds, Schala wiped the soot from her face. She saw Dalton's unconcious form burning in the distance. As the dust cleared a little, she saw Zeal standing about twenty feet away. The queen had a pained look on her face. She opened her mouth and coughed raggedly. Schala smiled. Then Zeal looked up and said, "You little bitch, that HURT."

.

Gaspar ducked as rubble rained down around his head. Spekkio seemed oblivious. Then they were both thrown to the ground as the concussion rocked the palace. "Did you hear that? Activate the stop device!" Spekkio obeyed, but the rubble continued to fall. Gaspar frowned. "That one must have been defective. Use another, quick!" Spekkio obeyed again, then scratched his small tuft of hair when nothing happened. "Don't tell me... Try the third one." Spekkio activated it, but it didn't work either. "What can be wrong? These worked on everything before, even Weapons!"

"Lavos' energy is different from Weapon energy." Spekkio stated matter-of-factly. "That thing has it's own wavelength, which is smart. Guess your devices are calibrated for human magic."

Gaspar growled angrily. "C'mon. Let's get back to the lab."

.

Schala spit out the blood that flooded to her mouth, glaring at Zeal's offending boot. "You know you cannot beat me. I saw how much that took out of you. Why do you persist?"

"You were ready to die when dad did, or don't you remember?" Schala growled savagely. Using the last of the energy available she could see on any wavelength, Schala created a sword made entirely out of ice in her hand, since she couldn't find her dagger. She raised it up weakly, and tried to charge at Zeal, although it was really more of a half limp.

"I remember. But I already told you, that filthy animal was nothing like your father!" Zeal invoked a fire spell. Schala brought up her sword to defend it. She heard Dalton's snicker too late, and knew it was over before she could do anything.

But she was still not prepared for the tremendous pain as the point of her dagger jutted out of her chest, blood spurting everywhere. She let her sword fall, and the fire spell entered her body through the cut, roasting her from the inside out. She would have screamed, but the fire had already vaporised her voice box. She felt the tremendous fear and pain as her own heart stopped, impaled by the dagger and now roasted by the fire. As the flames raced up her spinal column, her vision went black, and she welcomed death, if only to end this.

* * *

Schala saw Greven standing in front of a full length mirror, dressed in a blue and gold explorer uniform, looking very nervous, yet confident at the same time. Ertai came running into the room, gesturing at Greven. "You're still dressing? You better hurry, or you'll be late for your own wedding!"

Greven straightened his cravat, before grinning. "You know, its a shame I'm the groom, because I'm obviously the best man!"

Ertai grinned back. "Looks like Schala's sense of humor has been rubbing off on you."

Greven smiled differently now. "Yeah, she's a good influence. That's part of why I love her so much."

"So why are you still primping yourself in here?"

"I'm not nervous about marrying her," Greven grimaced, "I'm just worried about the mother in law."

"Oh c'mon." Ertai dismissed the matter with a wave. "How bad could she be?"

"I don't know." Greven said darkly. "I really don't know."

.

Now Schala seemed to be in a dark cave, which glowed slightly green. She seemed to be back in her own body, except she was lying naked in a puddle of greenish ooze. She stood up, shivering, trying to shake the goo off her body. "Where am I?" She cried into the darkness. The sound of heavy breathing answered, like something having it's sleep disturbed.

"Hello?!" She cried, half panicked. She didn't understand what was happening at all. Now she could hear footsteps coming toward her. The gloom lessened a little, and she saw what looked like a gigantic suit of armor opening. A much smaller humanoid stepped out, and it was undoubtedly alien. It stepped toward her rather menacingly, despite it's ungainly appearance. "W-what do you want?" She gasped, her shivering increasing.

The alien tilted it's head back, stretched it's arms out, and emitted a horrifying noise. The most horrifying part was that Schala realized she had heard this before. It was unbearably loud; nothing human could ever match it. The slime in between her goosebumps vibrated with the sound waves. Then the scream died off, as if someone's throat was being cut. And on that thought, Schala fell forward, her world fading to black.

.

"Is this all you've got? It will never be enough!" - Elmina, a.k.a. Lady Harken

"Good. At least I won't have to wait long to be with him." - Queen Zeal


	19. Apocalypse Now!

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 19**

**Apocalypse Now!**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala was dead. She knew that, and accepted it, before attempting to gather her surroundings. She was a swirling, shapeless form in a dark void, glowing faintly green. She felt other presences nearby. They seemed to be speaking.

'Now she's dead again too?'

'I swear, they must be the most tragic couple ever created.'

'What are you talking about?' She demanded of the darkness. She got no response, although one entity seemed to be moving closer.

'Don't be afraid. Nothing can hurt you here.'

'Greven?' She asked hopefully.

'Of course. I see Zeal got you too.'

'Yes.' She would have sighed, if she had found a way. 'Are we in the lifestream?'

'No actually. This is someplace quite different.'

'How do you know all this stuff?' She was surprised.

'I've been well informed by someone I believe you'll be glad to see. I mean, feel. Um, sense?'

Another mass of swirling green appeared in the darkness. 'I'm sorry Schala.'

'Father?' Her thoughts trembled.

'Since when are you so formal?'

'So this isn't the lifestream?' Her tension eased.

'No. We're too high in the grand scheme of things to have our soul energy mixed with a dozen other beings and poured into something new. This is sort of the afterlife for the heroes of the ages.'

'Oh. For some reason, I feel like I should be in the lifestream.'

'That's probably because you took command of it once, to stop a great disaster. But you came straight back here right after.'

'What's going on? I don't remember anything like that.'

'Of course not. That was a previous life. You lose all memory of all your previous lives whenever you start a new one. You should start remembering in just a few moments though.'

Greven's voice drifted through the darkness. 'I am starting to see something. A cloud?'

'Ah yes, they're usually quite symbolic at first. What are you getting Schala?'

'Nothing yet.' She said, still confused.

'Oh here we go.' Greven said. 'Whoah! Man, I am so screwed up. Schala and I-'

'Wait! She needs to remember for herself.'

'I'm not seeing anything.'

'Oh no.' Vigo whispered.

'What?'

'She's bringing her back! God no!' Vigo's mist began swirling rapidly. He was clearly agitated. 'Zeal, if there's any humanity left in you, don't bring her back!!'

* * *

Zeal stared, unfeeling, at the burned out husk of Schala's body. All three gurus had arrived by now, and stood, numb with pain, at the doorway where the collapsed tower had fallen down to. Zeal looked at Dalton, who was holding his side, but looking very much alive. "I believe there is one more task for you." She said.

"Can't it wait a little while? I'm not exactly feeling on top of things at the moment." Dalton argued, then winced with pain.

"You know what must be done." She said forcefully. She said no more, but Dalton's eyes widened in shock.

"No! That's too terrible, even for me!"

"You fool! I was hoping I wouldn't have to kill her. Now I'm going to have to go through a lot of trouble!" Then, a reddish orange beam of light came out of Zeal's forhead, and impacted into Dalton's, knocking him over.

"Aaugh!!" He held his head in his hands. "No! I won't! They're not the enemy!..." He stopped abruptly. "Yes, your majesty. It shall be as you have ordered." Then he turned and left ground zero. The gurus watched him go, not saying anything.

"Well now. We're going to have to bring her back." Zeal said simply. "Bring me a Nu."

"Huh? What for?" Gaspar asked suspiciously, fear and hatred mixing in his voice.

"Just do it!" She yelled. "I'm not in the mood for your bumbling incompetence!"

"Very well." Gaspar said darkly. He concentrated, and a sleeping Nu appeared in the rubble.

Everyone involved was surprised when the flowing mass of lava reappeared from the floor, engulfing the Nu. It never woke up. As the lava retreated, a bubbling, black ooze was left. Zeal made a slight gesture, and it burbled over to Schala, covered her, then entered her body through any orifice it could find. All her wounds, both fatal and minor, began to close up, and amazingly, she started to stir.

Despite his horror at the situation, Belthasar couldn't help but be fascinated at the same time. "Amazing. So all life begins with Nu and ends with Nu."

"Yes." Zeal said simply. "And she's going to be needing a treatment like this about once a month. Damn that fool Dalton. If he hadn't impaled her, I could have tamed her without killing her."

"You're going to sacrifice a Nu every month?" Gaspar asked, appalled.

"To keep her alive, yes."

"That's just going to make her feel even worse!" Zeal remained silent.

Now Schala began mumbling. "No... Let me stay... Father, Greven, don't leave me!" She cried out, then coughed and rose weakly to her knees, before half-collapsing again.

"Welcome back Schala. You had us worried there."

She looked around through confused eyes. "Me too. I thought I was going to die."

"Oh, you did die." Zeal said nonchalantly.

Schala's eyes went wide as memories quickly came flooding back. "Greven! Why did you kill him, mother?" She asked in a small, scared voice.

"He would have gotten you pregnant dear. There's no need for you to ever have children. Why you could have been pregnant not an hour ago!"

Schala could still almost feel the fire raging throughout the inside of her body. "I guess we'll never know now, will we?" She asked, but not bitterly. There was no bitterness in her voice, only malleable compliance. She began coughing suddenly, and a black dust flew from her mouth. Her eyes widened with fright again. "To what degree am I alive?"

"Enough to function. Enough to use Lavos' magic. That's all."

Schala sighed, but then looked up, questioningly. "Wait. What did you mean there's no need for me to ever have children? You mean you would have done this even if I was twenty five? But why? We've got the resources... Don't I need an heir to carry on the family line?"

"I won't have you suffer through childbirth! You don't need an heir if you're going to live forever!" Their was a collective gasp from the gurus. "That's right, we're all going to become immortal!" The gurus expected Schala to put up an enthusiastic argument, but she just collapsed to the floor, and seemed to fall asleep.

"She'll be needing some rest. Get her to a bed somewhere." The gurus nodded and hurried to obey. Zeal surveyed the destruction as they left, and cursed to herself. A true thouroughbred with a fine spirit must be tamed, but never broken. As she stared at some oddly colored flecks of charcoal on the floor, she knew the worst had happened.

Schala had been broken.

.

Ertai's anger was so great that he could barely walk. All he could think of was the scorched remains of Greven's body. He could only think one thought: Schala will avenge him. Schala must avenge him. He didn't notice as a white glow flashed in front of him. He didn't notice as a dozen soldiers deployed around him. He didn't notice anything until he bumped into someone. Through anger filled eyes, he could barely make out Dalton glaring at him. "What do you want?" He asked in the most venom filled voice any of the soldiers had ever heard.

"I have an order, and I must carry it out." Dalton grimaced. "I must... carry it out!"

"Can't you say anything else?" His hands began to glow with a yellow light.

Dalton seemed to hold his head for a minute, but then his hands began to glow in response. "Well then," Ertai began simply, "I guess its up to me to finally kill you!! Aaaaaaahhh!!" Lightning flowed freely from Ertai's outstretched hands, and the battle was joined.

.

Vuel sat up in bed deep inside the Vecar cave, instantly alert. Sounds of battle drifted in from outside. He jumped out of bed and began to buckle his armor on. "What's going on?" Hanna called from the bed.

"Sounds like a fight outside. Probably some drunks in a brawl, but I better check it out."

"Wake me up when its over."

"Probably won't need to bother." He said, checking his sword. "See you later." Walking down the tunnel, he noticed several of the childrens' doors were open. As he stepped outside the cave entrance, he was very surprised to see smoke in the air. He heard swords clashing in the distance, so it wasn't just a brawl, as he had thought. As he began to hurry down the system of tunnels, he saw a figure limping through the smoke. "Vhati! Son, what's happening?!"

As the boy came closer, Vuel saw that his face was covered with blood. There was a gaping wound in his side, severely limiting his movement. "Dalton is back." He gasped with pain. "His soldiers... beat the hell out of me. Ertai... he tried to..."

"Ertai is here? Where is he?" Vuel offered a supporting arm, which Vhati didn't seem to notice.

"He stood against Dalton... I don't know if he... ugh..." Vhati sank to the ground, face first.

"Vhati, get up! What's the matter?" As Vuel reached down, he saw a dagger protruding from Vhati's back. "God's blood." He croaked in a weak voice. "Why isn't Greven here helping?!"

"Greven's dead." Vhati said, blood flowing from his mouth. "Get Dalton for us, Da'." Then, he lost conciousness. Without a mage to heal him, it was very doubtful that he would live.

"I'll find Dalton, and force him to heal you!" Vuel yelled. He drew his sword and charged down the tunnel. As he drew closer to the sound of the battle, he saw many of the Algetty residents fighting Dalton's soldiers. In the center of the melee were Ertai and Dalton. Dalton clearly had the upper hand, but Ertai looked determined to fight to the end. Vuel charged through the mass of men, cutting his way through Dalton's soldiers with relative ease. "Leave the boy alone Dalton, its me you want!" He shouted.

Dalton turned, blocking a lightning bolt from Ertai with a simple spell shield. "Actually, I've already got who I want. Now I'm just following orders."

"Whose orders?!"

"Lavos'." He said nonchalantly.

"Zeal killed Greven, and Schala!" Ertai cried out, breathing heavily. "It was Lavos!"

"Lavos is powerful enough to make someone kill their own daughter?!"

"You better believe it, you old coot! I'm powerless to resist!" Dalton laughed. Vuel noticed he now had a patch over his right eye. Maybe he had resisted for a little while. Surveying the rest of the scene quickly, Vuel realized Dalton's soldiers were winning. "Ertai, you can teleport. You have to get out of here!"

"No! I have to stay and kill this bastard!" Ertai's hand took on a bright glow once more.

"I'll do my best son, but you have to survive!" Vuel leveled his sword at Dalton.

"What do you think you can possibly do to me?" He asked scornfully.

"I intend to find out. Go Ertai! You have to escape! Tell all of Zeal what has happened here!"

Ertai looked around with a sense of dread, realizing he would not be able to beat Dalton, not yet. Just before the familiar white glow surrounded him, he saw Vuel charge head on at Dalton, and then he was gone.

.

Hanna turned over in bed, seeing many sets of scared eyes staring at her. "Dad still isn't back, and the battle sounds are getting closer." One of the children piped up.

"Where's Vhati?" She asked sleepily.

"We haven't seen him in a long time." Suddenly, they all heard a man scream at the door. Hanna jumped out of bed and ran into the main area of the cave. One of Vuel's gaurds lay on the floor, blood flowing freely from his chest. Through the smoke drifting through the cave opening, she saw Dalton and several soldiers march inside.

"What do you want?" She asked scornfully.

"I have been ordered to put down any form of resistance in the Earthbound village. Your family has done more than it's share of resistance lately."

"You've just been looking for an excuse to slaughter us all!" Hanna yelled, drawing a dagger.

"How true." Dalton said without emotion. At a slight gesture from him, one of the soldiers threw Vuel's mutilated body to the floor.

Hanna screamed. "You bastard! Someone has to kill you!!" She threw herself at him.

Dalton easily sidestepped the blow. "I don't think so." He dodged another clumsy slash of the dagger. "Your husband failed, your son failed... even Schala failed!" He dodged another flash of the dagger, unsheathing his sword. "If they couldn't succeed," she screamed as Dalton drove the sword deep into her chest, "you are less than nothing!" As the blood spurted from the gaping wound, Hanna slid to the floor. Dalton looked up, seeing the Vecar children cowering in a corner. "Don't worry kids, this won't take long."

Even though they were all terrified, even the smallest didn't give him the satisfaction of running away in fear. Dalton advanced steadily, but as he drew closer, his sword began to waver. 'They're so little...' He thought, involuntarily. His hand began to shake outright, and he threw the sword away. But then, the shaking hand began to stretch out, and took on a bright glow. "No..." He whispered. His other hand grabbed his right, trying to somehow force it in another direction. But the glow brightened until he knew it was too late. An ever expanding wall of fire filled the room, fortunately making enough noise to mute the childrens' screams.

.

"I am such an idiot. I am such an unbelievable idiot!" Ertai ran back down the tunnel toward the Vecar cave. "I should have come right back here! Please, just let Dalton have some trace of humanity..." But as he entered the cave, he realized he was too late. Hanna and Vuel's bloody forms lay sprawled on the floor, and the toasted remains of several small corpses were scattered across the room. Ertai could barely suppress his urge to throw up, but he had one last hope. "Vhati?!" He called, near desperate. After searching the rest of the cave, he did not find Vhati anywhere. Running back toward where the battle had started, he saw his brother's still form lying on the ground. "Vhati? Wake up!" He kneeled down, his hope fading as he saw the dagger protruding from Vhati's back. He turned him over, seeing the pallor of death plainly on Vhati's pained face. "No... Not everyone... It can't be... Who could be so brutal?..."

"Laaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvoooooooooooooooossssssssss!! I WILL KILL YOU!!"

.

"You call throwing your life away courage? No, we won't be able to beat them yet." - Elmina


	20. The Survivors

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 20**

**The Survivors (?)**

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala wearily opened her eyes, hearing Ertai's tortured wail very loudly in her mind. 'I've failed them. I've failed everyone.' She turned over in her bed, coughing up more of that mysterious charcoal like substance. 'Why am I still alive when everyone else is dead? Am I really alive? Why did she bring me back?' She turned over again, every part of her body aching. 'I can still feel the dagger inside me... When will it claim me again? When... can I die?'

.

Dalton stormed down the tunnels of Algetty, glaring at the dirt, incredibly angry at his lack of free will. 'So I really am a monster.' He thought disgustedly. 'Only a monster would slaughter children. I shouldn't have submitted. I should have let myself die, there was opportunity enough. Didn't I know she would use me like this? Why did I let it happen? For power... Power for revenge. But these weren't my enemies. Schala is still alive, sort of. I've failed Besroda...'

At that thought, a wooden staff clocked him on the head, and he went sprawling to the ground. Normally, his men would have jumped to subdue the culprit, but now, they just stood behind him. "You fool!!" Dalton looked up, to see an old man he didn't recognize yelling at him.

"Who are you?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"I'm the leader of this village now, thanks to you!" He spat angrily. "You're a complete fool. You think your family was the only one to survive Besroda?"

"What?!" Dalton demanded, actually feeling afraid.

"The Vecars were traditionally the captains of the Besroda knights. Unlike you, I haven't forgotten my history, you total idiot!"

"NO!! Its not possible!"

"Its the truth. What reason do I have to lie? You're the worst kind of person alive, slaughtering the innocent for a non-existent cause." The man turned his back on Dalton and walked away.

"No! It can't be true! It just can't!" Dalton sank to the ground, holding his head in his hands. 'If Greven hadn't died, a Besrodan would have ruled the world! Sure, he loved Schala, but that would have been a small price to pay. Damn the power of Lavos! What can I do?... I can topple Zeal, that's what! If someone can kill Lavos, then she'll have no power over me! Once she's gone, I'll put Ertai on the throne, then let him kill me for what I've done. But who can kill Lavos? Ertai and Schala! I know they can, if I can just get Schala away from Zeal. One thing history shows for sure is that those Alleganians can do just about anything if they have the will to. But what if dying stripped her of her power?... Then, I hope Ertai hunts me down, before I do anything else. Please, Ertai, as long as Lavos is around, try to kill me.'

'I will.' Dalton whirled in surprise, but saw no one. 'As soon as you let your guard down, as soon as your soldiers turn their backs. As soon as you sheath your sword, I'll be there, ready to strike.' Then, his presence was gone.

.

"Schala?" Janus asked timidly as he opened the door to the room where she had been placed. She hadn't come down to breakfast, so he had taken it upon himself to bring her a tray full of food. "How are you feeling?"

Schala didn't respond right away. She had spent a miserable night, a dull ache permeating every cell of her body. She had woken up from her nightmares every once in a while to vomit an ugly black substance over the edge of the bed, which somehow was not there now. She slowly sat up on the bed, taking in her surroundings. "Awful."

"Maybe some food will make you feel better." He suggested helpfully, setting the tray on a table.

"I don't think I need food."

"Of course you do. Everybody needs food."

"It won't make any difference. I stopped breathing last night. It didn't matter."

"What?" He asked, almost afraid of her.

"I held my breath for over fifteen minutes. Nothing happened." She slowly stood up and walked over to the table.

"I don't understand. I don't know how I can help you."

"I don't think anyone can help me." She said. Then, she picked up the a knife from the silverware. She looked back at Janus for a second. His hair was getting a shade closer to blue every day. She almost smiled. Maybe he could kill Lavos. "Don't you understand Janus? I can't die!" She turned the knife on herself, and stabbed it up to the hilt in her chest.

"Schala!" Janus gasped.

She pulled the knife out, then stabbed it back in again several times. It made a sickening sound each time, but no blood came out, and the wounds closed up almost immediately. "I can't die!! Why won't she let me die?!"

"Schala... You're scaring me..." Janus began to back away from her.

"You should be scared Janus." She sighed, then suddenly charged at the window, which was closed, and smashed through to the outside.

Janus watched her body disappear over the edge with horror. "Schala!" He ran to the window, being careful not to cut himself on the jutting pieces of broken glass. He saw her sprawled on the ground far below. "Are you all right?!" He shouted, realizing it was a stupid question.

Then her form began to stir. She rose to a half kneeling position, carelessly pulling the shards of glass out of her midsection. "Of course. I'll always be "all right." Never good, never happy, but always all right." Janus remained silent. He probably hadn't heard her. Then, a thought struck Schala's suicidal brain. 'Where was Violen through all this? Only she had the power to stop it. Why did she abandon me?' No answer was forthcoming.

.

"They killed my family to deny me a future. They fed on my ancestors to deny me a past." - Crovax


	21. The Way of Atma

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 21**

**The Way Of Atma**

By Nanaki

12,001 B.C.

Violen continued to tirelessly pound through the rock. 'I'm almost there now. You'll pay for all of this Lavos. Oh, how you'll pay for this. I'm going to enjoy the violence this time.' Her strong hands carved huge trenches in the rock. She had been at this non-stop for months now. Somehow, Lavos had prevented her from using magic to get to him. So she had decided to go about it the old fashioned way.

'I let everyone down. I let Serges down, I let Schala down. I felt Schala die back there. Not completely though. Maybe if I kill him, she can finally let go...' Her thoughts stopped as she felt her fist punch through the rock, meeting no resistance on the other side. A red glow suffused the narrow tunnel. Violen quickly tore a hole big enough to fit herself through, and without pausing, jumped inside.

Lavos was waiting in a brightly glowing, high vaulted chamber. His outer shell could best be described as "radioactive porcupine." There was an odd pod on the front with three slits gouged in it. The pod ripped open as Violen landed, and an odd blue glow emanated from it. "Lavos, I've had just about enough of you."

If Lavos' thoughts could be put in a form humans could understand, he would have been thinking something like, "What? I've been asleep this whole time. Why is an annoying Weapon of the planet waking me up?" But then Lavos remembered that a standard defense against Weapons was to make them more intelligent, and therefore make it harder for them to understand the planet's orders. His magic must have carried this out automatically. Then he thought, "It's about time for me to be waking up. I guess absorbing a little Weapon DNA wouldn't hurt." The needles on his shell seemed to raise up higher.

Violen pulled her spear out. "You don't deserve to live, feeding off our planet! Your miserable life ends here!"

Lavos thought something like, "Sheesh lady, I'm just doing my job." She charged at him with her spear, but it just bounced off his tough shell. Three of his front needles shot out of the shell and into Violen, throwing her back into the cave wall. She lifted her hand up, and a tremendous amount of ice encased Lavos, then broke apart, and a blast of wind threw the shards around the room, gouging deep holes in whatever they touched. The opening in the front pod narrowed a little, and then huge beams of fire shot out of his shell at every angle. Many impacted into Violen right away. Those that didn't gathering in midair, and combined to form one huge fire laser that smashed through Violen's midsection. She collapsed to the ground, muttering one last spell.

Ice encased her spear, and it launched right at Lavos' front pod, striking it dead center. Lavos screamed with surprise before healing himself, then summoned a tornado funnel that sucked Violen back up to the surface. "That tired me out." He thought. "Guess I'll get a little more rest before I start harvesting. But it won't be long now..."

.

Violen sighed heavily as she watched her turquoise blue blood spilling onto the grass. 'I never thought he'd kill me so easily. I guess I needed Serges. I went about all of this all wrong.' She realized she was going to die fairly quickly. 'I have to apologize to Schala first. Schala!' She called loudly.

'Violen?' Schala's weak voice responded. 'Where have you been all this time?'

'I'd like to explain to you in person. Can you teleport down here?'

'I can try.' Several seconds later - many more seconds than it should have taken her - Schala appeared next to Violen. "It's good to see that I haven't lost everything." She almost smiled. Violen was surprised to see that she was wearing even more robes than Zeal had used to force her to. It was like she was trying to hide in them.

"I tried to kill Lavos." Violen whispered in a pained voice. She held her arm against the gaping hole in her stomach, trying to stay alive long enough to say everything that needed saying. "Instead, it was the other way around. Lavos had given the Weapons this unnatural intelligence to confuse us, and make us lose sight of the real threat to the planet. Namely: him."

"What can we do now?" Schala asked in a scared voice.

"If no one can kill him, then this planet will eventually die. Not in your lifetime, but in a very short geological span." Violen grew too weak to remain kneeling, and collapsed forward, the blood pouring out from her. She groaned softly. "I failed everyone Schala. You most of all."

"Don't say that. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have lived as long as I did."

"But you're dead now... aren't you?"

She remained silent for a few seconds. "Yes."

"See? I failed, miserably. I shouldn't have kept living after the other Weapons died." She sighed again. "At least I didn't go the way of Atma."

"The way of Atma?" Schala almost got some emotion in her voice. "Serges mentioned something about that."

"So he talked to you, did he?" Violen turned on her side, and she got a far away look in her eyes. "Atma was the leader of the Weapons on a distant planet. All the Weapons except him got killed in a great war. He should have killed himself after that. But instead, he kept going, and eventually, an evil man named Gestahl took control of him. He should have killed himself. I should have killed myself..."

"Sometimes I wonder why any of us are here, if we're all dying so badly." Schala frowned.

"I wish I could tell you Schala. I wish I could tell you..." Then Violen's eyes closed, and she drifted off into a painful sleep, never to wake up.

"And so now we're all gone." Schala stared at the dirt. "Except I'm still here. To do what? What good can I do like this?"

'I wish I could tell you Schala...'

.

"Where did you go?" Janus asked immediately when she 'ported back.

"Why do you care?" She asked, but not meanly.

"I think it's good that you actually went out somewhere, so there!" Janus stuck his tongue out at her. If the Nu ooze hadn't been coursing through her body, she would have laughed.

"I'm so tired Janus. I need to sleep some more." She lay down on her bed.

"But, it's only afternoon."

"I know." She lay back, saying nothing more. Janus walked over and put a hand on her forehead.

"You're freezing! I'm worried about you."

"Of course. I'm dead. But you shouldn't worry about me." Then she turned her head and ruffled his hair. Then, she slowly withdrew her hand in a sudden realization. There was no disputing it anymore: the boy had blue hair. "Janus, will you do me a favor, when you're strong enough?"

"Of course." He nodded eagerly.

"Someday, will you kill Lavos?"

Janus scowled, then with all the seriousness a four and a half year old could muster, said solemnly. "No matter how bad things seem, I'll never rest until Lavos is dead."

"Thank you. I'll rest a little easier now."

Janus left the room, clenching his fist angrily. "You're not dead Schala! Not completely. But how can I make you see that? And if I can't, who can?"

.

"Now, I think I have an answer..." - Atma


	22. More Power

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 22**

**More Power**

By Nanaki

12,001 B.C.

"Well, I've got an odd work order this morning." Melchior said, walking into his shop. Mune looked up with interest as Masa continued to stoke the forge.

"What is it and who's it from?" He asked out of habit.

"It's from Prince Janus." Mune's eyes took on an air of curiosity. "He wants a weapon for Schala that will allow her to regain her powers."

"Now that is a tall order." Masa grunted as the flames leapt up.

"Not just tall, nearly impossible." Mune frowned. "Unless we take some wild guesses with magical theory that just happen to be correct, then we have no way of getting Schala her old powers back. Not without a lot more research on Lavos' wavelength."

"Then what can we do for her?"

"Let's get Spekkio's input on this." Masa suggested. "He's a pretty good fighter."

"Pretty good?" Mune grinned widely. "He could kick your butt easily!"

"Yeah, well..." Masa went back to working on the forge.

"Did I hear someone mention me?" Spekkio bounded into the room.

"Gaaah!" Melchior, Masa, and Mune exclaimed collectively. "A little warning would be appreciated next time." Melchior put his hand up to his chest.

"Sorry about that, O guru of geezerhood." Spekkio bowed as well as Nu could bow.

"You are so annoying." Melchior stated succinctly.

"Ditto. That's why I hang out with Gaspar. He has a sense of humor. So why did you guys want me here anyway?"

"We need some way of giving Schala more power." Mune stated evenly.

"Um... In my experience, giving dead people a load of power doesn't turn out very well."

"She's not dead. Not entirely." Melchior reprimanded him. "Do you know of any way to overcome Lavos' wavelength?"

"Sorry. Gaspar and I have been having the same problem. Lavos seems to have a nearly unlimited amount of energy on that wavelength, and for some reason, humans, Nus, and... well, whatever the hell you two are," he nodded at Masa and Mune, "can't use it or even figure out how it works. Except for the few who are under his control."

"So there's no way we can increase power in her or the dagger?"

"Not that I no of, no. Sorry." And with that, Spekkio abruptly disappeared.

"Well, guess that's the end of that." Masa sighed and turned around.

"Hold on. Don't be selfish Masa." Mune looked thoughtful.

"What are you talking about? What else can we do?"

"Anchoring."

"Oh no, not that!"

"What's anchoring?" Melchior butted in.

"Okay Melchior, prepare for a little history/biology lesson about our race."

"But, I thought you told me your ancestors were humans."

"They were. WE, however, are finori. We've been this species for a few million years. Well, actually, whatever's on Earth by this time is probably vastly different. But in the era we're from-"

"It's gonna take all day if you explain it." Masa interrupted him. "The bottom line is that finori are shapeshifters by nature. We've always been able to turn into anything we want, since we stopped being humans anyway. In the past few thousand years, the finori evolved the ability to planeshift."

"Planeshift?" Melchior got a puzzled expression on his face.

"The ability to travel to different planes of existence simply by force of will." Mune took back control of the conversation. "Now this is where anchoring comes in. In some planes, a finori will get sucked right back to the plane they came from. We don't know why it happens, or if it's physical or magical in nature. Anyway, a finori can prevent that from happening by "anchoring" itself to an object in that dimension."

"And this is one of those types of dimensions? But, what are you anchored to?"

"We were all anchored to our ship. That's why it took me and Doreen so long to heal when we got hurt. Since then, we've anchored to large rocks on the surface. It's safer that way. Now, as to how this relates to additional power for Schala-"

"If we put anchoring force in a weapon, it gets really strong." Masa interrupted again.

"Er, yes." Mune said, P.O.ed. "So if we anchor with the dagger, then it'll take an awful lot to stop it."

"More than Dalton's got?"

"Oh yeah." Masa grinned.

"More than Lavos's got?"

"That, I couldn't tell you."

Melchior grimaced. "Let's give it a try."

"How are you going to find the dagger? I'm sure Zeal has it hidden away pretty good."

Melchior reached behind his belt, then procured the bright red dagger. "Janus got it. Don't ask me how. When that boy actually wants to do something, well, he does it, and does a good job." Then he looked up. "Do we need the forge for this?"

"Nope. Just let us handle it." Mune shut his eyes, and Masa reluctantly did too. They began to flicker, and then appeared to ripple in the air. They became foggy, and finally vanished. There was a bright flash, and then they were standing just as they had always been. "Go ahead, try it out." Mune gestured toward a stone pillar in the middle of the room. Melchior used it to test a weapon's strength. The more it damaged the pillar, the better the alloy. Melchior swung the dagger hard into the pillar. It did as much damage as he would have expected a Dreamstone weapon to do.

"I didn't see anything special." He said, frustrated.

"That's because we didn't activate the power yet." Mune explained. There was another flash of white, and Masa and Mune disappeared again. "Now try it." Mune's voice drifted from the weapon.

"If you say so." Melchior grimaced, then swung hard at the pillar again. Sparks flew as the stone shattered. Then the severed top of the pillar went flying through the air, where it crashed into the wall. Masa and Mune reappeared.

"Oh yeah! That's gonna cramp Dalton's style!" But Melchior groaned.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Mune questioned.

"Quiet!" Melchior hissed. But in a few seconds, he heard feet running down the hall, and Dalton appeared in the doorway.

His eyebrows arched in surprise. "Well, well. It looks like we've been engaging in a little illicit activity." He strode forward and seized the dagger. "I could go a long time without seeing this thing again. Melchior, I'm afraid I'm going to have to report this."

"And what's going to happen? You know making weapons is my job!" He demanded angrily.

"We'll leave that up to Zeal. This is no ordinary weapon, after all. Come along."

Masa and Mune looked ready to jump back into the dagger, but Melchior held up a hand. "No. I want to see what happens, actually."

"Smart move." Dalton nodded. "Let's go, old man."

.

"Wield your sword with full knowledge of the consequences." - Melchior


	23. Fierce Creatures

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 23**

**Fierce Creatures**

By Nanaki

12,001 B.C.

"This is a very serious offense Melchior." Zeal said, holding the dagger by the tip of the hilt.

"How is this an offense? I was just doing my job." He asked defiantly.

"I hardly think that stealing this dagger and imbuing it with more power is in your job description."

"I didn't steal it. It was given to me, and adding power was in the work order." He said calmly, but angrily.

"Who gave it to you?" She asked, venom in her voice. Melchior sensed that there was no getting out of this one.

"Prince Janus." He said, volunteering no further information.

"You dare to lie in a situation like this? I don't believe this! How such a traitor could have slipped through Vigo's judgement is beyond me."

"You're the traitor here!" Melchior shouted, sensing that he was in a lot of trouble no matter what. He might as well speak his mind. "You killed the rightful ruler of the kingdom and are under Lavos' control!" He expected her to erupt into a rage, but she just stared calmly.

"You're going to regret saying that." Her face remained emotionless. "Melchior, you've been working awfully hard lately. How would you like to take a little vacation?"

"Sounds fine." He said, equally emotionless.

"I've been meaning to check up on our old friend Shivan. How would you like to go on a little excursion to Mount Woe?"

"Fine with me. At least Lavos has no control over him."

'That's what you think.' Zeal thought, but said nothing.

.

"Come in." Schala said wearily, hearing the knock on her door. "Melchior?" She asked in surprise. "What do you want?"

"Only to say goodbye." He said sadly.

"What? Where are you going?"

"I've been deported. Zeal's sending me to Mount Woe."

"Why?"

"For trying to help you, and Janus." He shook his head sadly.

"It figures." She said dejectedly, then became quiet. She realized Melchior was giving her an odd look. "What?"

He smiled, and almost laughed. "I was just thinking that we need Vigo to get us out of this situation. But that's not true. We just need you."

"What can I do?" She was surprised.

"To be precise, we need you the way you used to be."

"Good luck finding her." Schala threw herself down on the bed. Melchior smiled sadly again.

"You may think you're finished, Schala of Enhasa, but you'll triumph in the end. Something will get through to the real you. I know it." He turned to leave, then turned back. "Would you care to show me the way through Algetty?"

"Sure." She slowly stood back up.

.

Melchior stood at the base of the mountain, holding the dagger. For some reason, Zeal had insisted that he take it with him. He looked up through the dark, swirling mists, wondering what he should do. He knew that Zeal had sent him up here to get rid of him, hoping that he wouldn't come back. He certainly wasn't going to actively seek out Shivan, or whatever the hell the former Weapon was now. He would have to find somewhere to hide for a while. Maybe there were still some Nus living here. They were just about everywhere else. He started walking up the mountain, ghosts of the past taunting him at every turn.

He hadn't gone too far when he suddenly stopped. 'Whoah. There is some very odd energy amassed here.' He thought, probing the magical field. 'The actual magical kinetics aren't anything special, but the magical field potential-' He stopped as something raced past his head in the air. He ducked down, but saw nothing in the mist. 'Weird...' Then he went back to his musings. 'What's so special about this?... Of course! This is massive amounts of lifestream energy! The planet's own energy is what's holding this place up, but it's not being processed through a machine this time. It's raw and pure... ..and this much raw energy can't be good.'

Suddenly, Melchior heard a low growl behind him. Turning around, he saw a rotund monster, holding a large club. It had yellow skin, and sort of looked like a mutated frog. "Food?" It demanded. Melchior was taken aback.

"I don't have anything on me." He said, very surprised.

"Then you no good!" The monster shouted. It charged forward, striking Melchior right in the stomach with the club.

"Ugh..." Melchior coughed, while the monster raised its club again. "Masa, Mune, I need your help here!"

"Sure thing old man!" Masa's cheerful voice returned. Melchior let go of the dagger, and it hovered in midair, then began spinning. The monster watched with interest, until the dagger darted forward and imbedded itself in his stomach. It cried out, and Melchior heard a flapping of wings. Several birds flew forward, each dropping an impish creature, before flying away. The imps all ran forward, wearing none too friendly expressions on their faces. "Maybe we better fight in person." Masa's voice came again.

"Okay..." Mune reluctantly agreed. There was a white flash, then Masa and Mune stood in front of Melchior, guarding him. Masa grabbed the dagger, which was still hovering in midair.

"It's go time!" He shouted with glee, then charged toward the imps. Mune began concentrating on some magic. As Masa slaughtered the imps with relative ease, Melchior viewed the scene with interest. These were no ordinary monsters. They were primitive, yes, but they appeared to be sentient. Perhaps the severe amount of spirit energy around the mountain had mutated the native inhabitants. The noise of the fight attracted more of the creatures, and they had a wide variety of appearances. Mune unleashed a wide ranging lightning spell that devastated their ranks, but they just kept coming. Finally, Masa couldn't fight without turning his back to another enemy. He ran back toward Mune, slashing mercilessly.

"Got anything that'll really clear them out?" Mune just stared at the swirling mist.

"Actually, maybe I do..." The mist began swirling more and more quickly. A gale suddenly descended on the slope, and Melchior and Masa had to duck down to avoid being blown off. The creatures weren't so lucky.

"What was that?" Masa asked, smiling.

"The power of the wind. I've been working on it, though I'm far from mastering it."

"Looks like you will someday though. Maybe you're not as much of a wuss as I thought, Mune."

"Thanks, I think." Then, they all shut up as a roaring sound was heard. A gigantic stone hand shot out of the ground, clawing at the dirt.

"You know what this means?" Masa asked, a strange look on his face.

"It means we've gotta get out of here!" Melchior shouted.

"I'm way ahead of you old man!" Mune shot up the slope.

Masa stayed right where he was. Soon, the head and torso of Giga Gaia also emerged from the rocks. "What are looking at, Mr. Ex-Weapon?" He demanded. The Gaia looked at him for a second, then roared. A fire spell launched from each hand, missing Masa by inches. "I see." Then he fled up the mountain, quickly catching up to the others. "Move!!"

The three ran up the mountain as fast as they could, before Melchior calmed down. "Hold on. I'm going to have a coronary if we keep this up." He said, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, and quickly teleported them to the top. Memories came flooding back as the white glow faded. The top was actually the crater where the Weapons had come close to blowing the mountain apart. Melchior began to step forward, when Giga Gaia landed in front of him, shaking the mountain considerably. Nevertheless, when Melchior got his first good look at the monster, he had to laugh. "What happened to you?" He demanded. "Didn't you used to be a few hundred feet taller?" Indeed, the Gaia had shrunk to less than one hundred feet tall. Apparently, he acted as the catalyst for all the spirit energy around here, and it was slowly sucking the spirit energy out of him. "Maybe you'll shrink to nothing in another nine years." There was a lesser roaring sound behind them.

Whirling around, the three saw that the horde of monsters was advancing rapidly. "This doesn't look good." Masa grimaced.

"You two get out of here." Melchior said darkly.

"What? Are you crazy? They'll slaughter you!" Mune protested.

"Just do it! Someone has to keep an eye on the situation in the Zeal Palace." Melchior grabbed the dagger back from Mune, then pushed him away. "Don't worry about me! I've got something in mind. Now go!"

"Okay..." Mune said reluctantly. He and Mune disappeared.

"Now, let's see if I can't do something useful with all the power around here." Melchior thought out loud. The encroaching horde of creatures was almost upon him, and Giga Gaia raised his foot to step on the guru. Then, an odd blue shield surrounded Melchior. "I'm not ready to kick the bucket yet!" He shouted at the Gaia. "Only two things can finish me! Lavos or old age!" Then, the shield began to fill in. He would remain in suspended animation until someone came to let him out. 'The dagger is ready for you to take it Schala.' He thought, a little forlorn. 'When you come here to claim it, I'll be very glad to see you...' Then, the blue shield became opaque, and he fell asleep.

Giga Gaia and the creatures that would become known as mystics hammered on it for nearly an hour, to no avail. The spirit energy Melchior had gathered was simply too strong. They eventually got bored with it, and almost forgot that it was there.

.

"The past is a ghost that haunts you, from the moment it exists, until the moment you don't." - Crovax


	24. Heart of Darkness

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 24**

**Heart Of Darkness**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Dalton awoke suddenly, ill at ease. He had been having disturbing dreams again. They were always full of Vecars, taunting him about how he had failed his homeland. He got up and walked around, then suddenly noticed something odd. Walking over, he saw it was a simple dagger imbedded in his wall. "What the hell?" He asked the empty air. Looking closer, he saw that it was stabbing through a piece of paper. He made a slight gesture, and the dim golden glow in his room increased. He read the message slowly, a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Not so dear Dalton,

I do hope you haven't forgotten about Schala's last surviving ally. I certainly haven't forgotten about you. By the way, it may interest you to know that the dead do not always remain so.

Fondest wishes (for you death),

Ertai Vecar"

Truth be told, Dalton had almost forgotten about him. But where had he been hiding, and why hadn't he been trying to kill Dalton this whole time? "Sheesh. I'd rather deal with the dead ones." Dalton sighed heavily, then went back to bed.

.

Magus opened his eyes as the gate closed behind him, taking his new surroundings in stride. He was almost disappointed when the gate didn't reopen. 'Guess those cretins ended up in a different place. Or time.' He amended to himself quickly. Looking around, he saw he was in a small cave, with a cold wind blowing through the opening. 'No point in hanging around here.' He walked outside, oblivious to the cold. 'Hmm... Lots and lots of snow. Could be almost any time.' He walked off through the snow, in search of some sign of civilization.

He hadn't gone too far, or at least, it didn't seem far to him, when he stopped in his tracks. After years of living with mystics, and having to prove his worth or fight for his life on a daily basis, there were very, very, few things that could shock or surprise Magus. This was one of them. 'Unless I've got brain damage from the Masamune, that's a skyway.' He thought, oblivious to the blowing snow. His heart began to beat faster, and he tried to rationalize. 'Now wait. I was never here after... It could be a ruin.' He quickly lifted his feet off the ground, and telekinetically propelled himself toward the odd structure. He actually gulped as he saw the archaic designs on the floor were glowing slightly purple. He paused, looking up vacantly at the ceiling. 'That means... Schala's up there.'

Half an hour later, he realized he was still standing in the same place. 'Why can't I go up there? Is it because... if I kill Lavos here, Zeal will be destroyed anyway? There's no reason for me to go, even if I do want to see her. It has to be another way...' Suddenly, he heard a roaring sound. Running back outside, he saw a section of the clouds was darker than the clouds around it. The shadow was moving fairly quickly. As the sound grew louder, the object dropped below cloud level. It slowed, and started to circle over a point near the horizon. Magus realized that was where Algetty would be. 'That's the Blackbird. Never thought I'd see it again.' He thought, almost amused. Then, a thought thundered into his brain. 'Dalton!!' Without any further hesitation, he ran back inside. He barely noticed as purple ribbons of energy began to surround him. 'Future be damned! Lavos be damned, for the moment! If it's the last thing I do, that bastard has to die!!'

Once he saw Enhasa in front of him, he knew it was too late to change his mind. He ignored the sleepy village and ran straight for the other land bridge. Once back on the ground, he floated himself across the wastes at a rapid pace, and jumped onto the final skyway. He felt himself floating upward, and the main continent of Zeal appeared in front of him. He ignored Kajar and the Blackbird dock, and quickly made his way through the system of caves leading up to the Zeal Palace. He paused in front of the main gate, realizing his present appearance was hardly commonplace. Not wanting to waste time now that he had decided to get back into things, he quickly unfastened his cape and draped it over his head, forming a long hood. Now he looked even more dark and mysterious than normal. He wondered how he could get Zeal to trust him. For manipulating her was the only way he would eventually get to Lavos, after Dalton, of course. He strode forward and threw the large gate open.

"Can I help you?" A young guard instantly stepped forward to block his way.

"Perhaps. I believe I can be of some service to your queen."

"My queen?" The guard looked at Magus like he was funny in the head. "She's everyone's queen."

"Not Schala's." He said under his breath.

"That's Princess Schala to you!" The guard looked cross. Then he gave Magus another funny look. "You talk like you live around here, but you don't think of Zeal as your queen?"

Magus thought fast. "I'm from Enhasa. Guess we still sort of think of Vigo as the ruler over there." He explained quickly. "Anyway, I figure the queen might have use for a clairvoyant. I'm a prophet by trade."

The guard continued to give him the evil eye, but stepped aside. "Come in. I'll try to arrange an audience with the queen for you."

"Thank you." Magus surprised himself by bowing. Maybe he was a better actor than he had thought.

.

"So you claim to be prophet." Zeal looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes, your majesty." He said, not blinking.

"I find it curious that you've lived at Enhasa all your life, and neither I or Schala ever noticed you."

"I believe there's a great deal Schala knows that she never tells you."

"A point for you, prophet." Zeal smiled thinly. "Any more predictions?"

"I don't believe Dalton will be overly happy to hear of my arrival. I also believe that you've been thinking about moving the Mammon Machine."

Zeal's eyebrows arched in surprise. Now she was impressed. "Yes. Its current location is nowhere near the optimum spot for gathering energy." She looked him in the eye again. "Would you happen to know where that spot is?"

Magus felt his insides freeze, as he realized that he could be the one responsible for giving Zeal the idea to build the Ocean Palace. He wanted to steer her in the totally wrong direction. But then he would be discredited. He had to gain more influence before he could try to change history. "Yes..." He began slowly. "I believe the spot where Lavos lies closest to the surface lies deep beneath the waves..."

"Would you be able to pinpoint this location?"

"I believe so."

"Excellent. We'll take the Blackbird out later today and see what you can do." Zeal seemed to think for a minute, then sent out a telepathic call. "I'd like you to meet a few of the people higher up in the scheme of things around here. Although I'm sure you already know all about them."

Magus sensed that this was a test, and prepared to sound of bits of information about everyone as they came through the door. "Belthasar, the Guru of reason. Went on the original expedition to retrieve the Sun stone." Belthasar raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. "Gaspar, the Guru of time. Assistant is the leader of the Nus, Spekkio." Gaspar raised his eyebrows as well, but stepped aside, as it was obvious Zeal was waiting for others. "Dalton, who does some of everything." Magus surpressed his desire to kill for the moment, now that he had calmed down. Dalton looked up with his one good eye, surprised. 'Ah, thank you for that, Greven.' Magus thought, seeing his eyepatch.

Then he froze as Schala entered the room. She looked just like he had remembered, only smaller. Then he realized he had gotten a lot bigger, and she had never been that tall in the first place. He wanted to run up and embrace her, before he realized that would just freak her out in his current state. It would also blow his cover, he thought belatedley. He hurriedly forced his emotions down as deep as they could go. A few hours before, he hadn't been aware he still had any. Now, it was hard not to expose them. He tried to withdraw deeper into his hood.

"Something wrong Prophet?" Zeal asked.

"Not at all." He croaked weakly. "This is Schala, Princess of Zeal Kingdom, daughter of King Vigo of Allegan and Enhasa." Schala looked up slowly, wondering what was going on, but not really caring. Then, she stepped aside, and Janus entered the room. Magus smiled.

"And this is Janus, half brother of Schala, owner of Alfador, and hater of meat loaf."

Janus stomped up to the bottom steps of Zeal's throne, where Magus was standing. "You seem very familiar, for some reason." He peered at Magus curiously.

"I don't see why I would, young sir. I am simply a new, humble servant to the royal family."

"The sarcasm is duly noted." He said, frowning. Zeal and Dalton burst out laughing.

"I wasn't being sarcastic." Magus whispered to his young self.

"Ahh, don't be mean to the boy." Zeal said as the laughter died down.

"I wouldn't dream of it, your majesty." Then Magus pretended to search the room. "Someone is missing." He stated succinctly. "Ah yes, Melchior the Guru of life, is absent. Now I see. You sent him- no, he volunteered to go on an expedition to Mount Woe, and he never returned."

Zeal burst out laughing again. Magus noted Schala took an immediate dislike to him, and he cursed inwardly. But he had to get Zeal's trust before he could help her. "I like your style Prophet!" She smiled. "Shall we board the Blackbird?" Dalton immediately 'ported away to get the giant aircraft ready. "I'll explain to the rest of you on the way."

He took a position just behind Zeal. He wanted to whip out his scythe and drive it into her head, but quickly surpressed the urge. 'The only problem now is determining just when to stop supporting Zeal, and start helping Schala. The timing is critical. And that's all providing of course, that Glenn doesn't manage to follow me.' The Prophet frowned, the quickened his pace. He must appear eager to serve...

Inside a small cave on the surface, where Magus had appeared not too many days before, the time gate opened again, spewing out three people this time. The travelers dusted themselves off and stood up, before attempting to gather their surroundings. "Boy, this is exciting!" One of them exclaimed immediately.

They all looked around the cave again. "Where this, Crono?" Another of them asked. The young man in the lead said nothing, but checked his katana. Despite the fact that there only seemed to be blowing snow outside, he felt like he would be using it again before too long. Crono Triggara shrugged, then stepped outside into the blowing snow, and into history.

.

"Being the best usually means proving it to everyone." - Gerrard Capashen


	25. The Ones He Warned Her About

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 25**

**The Ones He Warned Her About**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

"I have to hand it to you Prophet, you've done an excellent job so far." Zeal smiled. "You detected the spot almost perfectly. I've already sent some water mages down to create livable conditions for people to work in, and we're "encouraging" the Earthbound to work on the construction of the Ocean Palace."

"Encouraging" meaning forced labor?" Magus asked frankly.

"In a way. It's not like they have anything better to do. And this will make up for the damage they once caused to the Zeal Palace."

'And sending Dalton to slaughter the Vecars didn't?' He though bitterly, being careful to hide his disgust. "You are certainly a vengeful lady, your highness." He said out loud.

"I try." She said offhand.

Dalton raced into the room. "Your highness, construction has begun on the Ocean Palace, according to your specifications. The Earthbound needed a little encouragement, but I think they understand the importance of this project now." He said with an evil grin.

"Your highness, I feel there is something I should warn you about." Magus regained his monopoly of her attention, and noted how much that bothered Dalton. He had wracked his brain over the past week trying to remember everything he could about the tiniest little details in Zeal. Last night, he had remembered that some strange looking people had visited not too long before he was sucked away from the Ocean Palace. He didn't recall Glenn being among them, but Crono might have been. "There may be some people coming here to cause trouble and unrest in the kingdom. I cannot be certain, as they have a special way of damping my powers." He said, thinking of the Masamune. He had not been overly thrilled to see Masa and Mune occasionally wandering the halls around the Zeal Palace.

"What would be their purpose in doing so?"

"To undermine your rule, and perhaps to aid the Earthbound ones. I believe they may be survivors of Besroda." He almost laughed as Dalton tried hard to control his reaction to that subject.

"Dalton, keep a sharp lookout for these foreigners!" Zeal ordered.

"Yes, your majesty." Dalton clenched his teeth as he bowed low. He hurried out the door before his desire to wipe the smirk of the Prophet's face overwhelmed him. 'Easy Dalton.' He told himself. 'Zeal only likes him because he's new. He's a novelty of sorts. She'll get tired of him soon.'

Then he suddenly ducked as a dagger flew at him, cutting of a few wisps of hair as he flew toward the floor. He glanced around quickly, but no one was in sight. He jumped back up and yanked the dagger out of the wall. Engraved in the blade were the words: "With love from Ertai."

"Damn it!" He hurled the blade at the floor. 'Not now, Ertai! I have to get rid of this Prophet. I have to stop the Ocean Palace from being completed! Just wait a little while longer, then you can have your revenge. But if you try this now, you're only going to get yourself killed!'

'That's my choice isn't it?' Dalton whirled around, searching in all directions, but there was no sign of Ertai. 'Schala can do everything you can do, and do it better. It's up to Janus to get her to. And I'm sure he'll have an easier time of it without you around!'

'Then we've just become enemies again, I guess.'

'We always were! Just because you were on a guilt trip after finding out about the Vecars doesn't mean I ever stopped hating you! You just deluded yourself into thinking that achieving your own goals would help me. Get real! If Lavos will let you, that is.' Then, his mental touch was gone.

.

"And you're certain construction on this "Ocean Palace" has begun already?" Gaspar asked Masa and Mune as Belthasar listened.

"Yes sir. Zeal has pushed thousands of the Earthbound ones into forced labor. It looks like she wants this thing up and running fast." Mune reported.

"I wonder if we should try be trying to stop it from being completed." Gaspar scratched his chin.

"Actually Gaspar," Belthasar broke in timidly, "I'm kind of in charge of it."

"What? Why are you doing this?"

"If we keep resisting Zeal, we'll only end up like Melchior, or Schala, or worse! We have to wait until a critical moment to put our will against hers."

"I happen to disagree with that opinion."

"What are you going to do?" Belthasar asked apprehensively.

"I'm getting out of here."

"Where will you go?"

"The cave where you found the Sun stone seems like my best bet at the moment. I believe I can better conduct my studies on temporal flow there. I think I'm close to a breakthrough."

Belthasar sighed. "I guess there's no changing your mind about something like this. Is there any reason I should call you back?"

"Yes. If Zeal actually manages to finish this crazy place. Otherwise, leave me alone."

.

Janus felt temporary relief as he entered Enhasa. Perhaps it was just because the people here had become so lethargic since Greven and Ertai vacated the premesis, but he did feel more relaxed. As he had half expected, a sleeping Nu was occupying Greven's old room. Well, it was technically Belthasar's room, but it felt like Greven's. As Alfador rubbed up against his leg, he remembered that he had come here to relax. It was best not to dwell on the past. The levels of black wind at the Zeal Palace had been nearly off the scale lately. They were similar to the night Greven and Schala had died, only a little more vague. For a while, he wondered if he himself was about to bite the dust, and that was why he couldn't sense it clearly. But now he was sure it wasn't him. Someone important was going to have a remarkably short lifespan, he was sure of that.

As he climbed the stairs up to the top northwest corner of Enhasa, he felt the wind suddenly kick up. 'Aw man! What is it now?' He wondered, and began to pace back and forth. Alfador dutifully trotted behind him. Before very long, a group of three decidedly odd looking people began coming up the stairs. The first had wild, spiky red hair, and was dressed in several layers of coarse fabric. The second had golden blonde hair, and was dressed in fabric that, while casual, was of a much higher quality than the leader's. The third, if possible, was even more blonde, and was dressed (and he applied the term loosely) in animal skins. All three constantly looked around them as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Although he didn't see anything special, for some reason, the black wind seemed to originate from their general direction. As the leader reached the top of the stairs, Janus ran up to him, not sure what to ask.

"What's wrong with him?" The lady in the fine cloth asked the others, giving Janus an odd look. "What a weird kid..."

Janus opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, the woman in skins broke in with, "What wrong? That animal good food?" She was cleary pointing at Alfador.

'Okay,' he thought to himself, 'psychos at 3 o'clock!' But then a blast of the black wind hit him, and there could be no doubt about why this time. "The black wind howls... One among you... ..will shortly perish." He told them frankly. Alfador meowed to emphasize the point.

The three people looked very surprised, to put it lightly. "What?! And out of the blue, like that?" The first lady exclaimed. Janus wanted to talk to the leader, but it looked like this loudmouth wouldn't let them have a moment's peace. He sighed and walked away. If his feelings were right, and they usually were, he would be seeing them again before too long anyway.

Marle watched the kid leave with growing unease. She didn't know quite what to make of his cryptic remark, but in her travels so far, she had learned that sometimes the most reliable information came from the oddest sources. "Crono... this is kinda creepy." She admitted to him and to herself.

Ayla stared after Janus' retreating form, then turned back to Marle and Crono. "Strange one... But not bad boy." She proclaimed as if that ended the matter. Crono shrugged and continued on, so apparently it did.

Doreen saw the three odd travelers heading for her again. She had confused them twice before with some of her favorite cryptic comments, such as: "This is the eternal kingdom of Zeal, where dreams can come true. But at what price?" and "Am I a butterfly dreaming I'm a man... Or a bowling ball dreaming I'm a plate of sashimi? Never assume that what you see and feel is real!" But now they were approaching her again. The look in their eyes suggested that she looked familiar to them, although she couldn't imagine where they would have seen, her, Masa, or Mune before. She decided to be slightly more helpful before jumping away this time. "I'm Doreen. Seek the hidden path, and open the doors of knowledge, each in turn."

Back from the entrance, she saw they were looking confused at first, but then one of the ladies elbowed the leader and said, "Hey Crono, didn't that Poyozo critter say something about a doorway too?" Doreen smiled. Maybe they weren't as dense as she had thought.

.

Dalton was walking out onto the dock to make his daily check on the Blackbird, when he heard one of his soldiers ask, "Who're you guys?"

"Everything okay with the Blackbird?" He called to the soldier, ignoring the other people who stood there, for a moment.

"Everything's A-okay, Sir Dalton!" The two soldiers guarding the entry hatch saluted him.

"Of course it is, you idiot!" He yelled at them, on a temporary power trip. Now he finally turned to see the other people. "Hey you! What're you doing there?" He demanded of the leader. Then, upon closer inspection he realized this man, no, this boy, almost exactly matched the description the Prophet had given of the "foreigners." But he knew they were more than just foreigners. After Ertai, he had made it his top priority to find every survivor of Besroda, and these weirdos were nowhere on the list. In fact, they were nowhere on any list. It was as if they just appeared out of nowhere.

"Aha...it was true then...!" He proclaimed to himself. "You're the ones the Prophet said would come and cause trouble!" He enjoyed watching their confused expressions. "Let's see how you handle THIS little situation." He threw his cape back, stretching his arm out. The boy with the spiky red hair reached for his sword, but did not draw it. "I didn't think they'd make it so easy on me! HA!" He said for the benefit of his men. Like Greven, this guy had a clue about how to play the game of life and death. A small clue, but a clue nonetheless. That was a lot better than he could say about most people. He was curious as to what their next move would be, so he simply turned and left.

.

Masa and Mune were keeping watch halfway up the main flight of stairs in the Zeal Palace, nearly bored out of their skulls. They were never sure what they were watching for, but it had been one of Melchior's practices, and they felt they owed it to him to keep it up. "I wonder how ol' man Melchior is... Humans are so odd..." Masa mumbled to himself.

Mune didn't seem to hear him. He went off on his own tangent. "I wanna be the wind, Masa!"

"Oh, you will some day." Masa assured him. Mune just nodded.

"Big sister Doreen's at Enhasa again." He noted, making small talk.

"Yeah..." Masa had noticed her absence as well. "That's 'cause she likes dreams."

"I like the wind better! Whoosh!" Upon that exclamation, Masa noticed that a group of strangers had overheard their entire conversation. But he just shrugged it off. I wasn't like they had revealed any important information.

.

Janus found himself somewhat glad to be back at the Zeal Palace, although the black wind had seemed to follow him home. He marched straight to Schala's room and announced his arrival. "Schala!!"

"Oh, you're back Janus! Is something wrong?" She asked, seeing the dour expression on his face.

"The black wind..." He mumbled, knowing she would understand him.

"You feel it too? Don't worry, it'll be all right." Yes, she always understood, even if she didn't acknowledge it anymore. "Now, hold onto this." She surprised him by holding out a glowing object.

"What is it?" He asked with a typical six year old's curiosity. In truth, Schala had asked Belthasar to make a second pendant like hers. Although the result wasn't quite as good as Melchior's constantly supreme efforts, the result was pretty potent all the same.

"It's a kind of amulet." Was all that she volunteered. "If something should happen, it'll protect you." He could tell from the look on her face as he accepted it that she expected something to happen. He guessed it was one of three things: the Ocean Palace, the prophet, or the Ocean Palace. Then there was always the possibility that it was the Ocean Palace. Janus knew that despite the odd presence of the prophet, it was this Ocean Palace business that was really getting to her. "I wish I could be with you always... But mother has other plans." And that sentence pretty much confirmed it.

"She's NOT our mother!" Janus fumed. "She looks like mother, but inside she has changed." They stared at each other for a second as both realized that was the first time he had openly acknowledged that fact. He had never dared to say it openly before. Schala had never talked about it since the night Greven was killed.

Schala remained silent for a good while. "Still I can't..." She finally said sadly. "Janus, I'm sorry." Janus' brief period of hope died in his chest. But then he mentally replayed their conversation in his head. She was speaking less formally than she had been lately, and hadn't tried to mask her feelings. Maybe his sister was still there somewhere, buried under all she had been through.

One of the messenger girls hurried in the door. "Excuse me, Highness. The Queen asks for your immediate presence at the Ocean Palace." She said politely.

'So she's moving that fast...' Schala thought. "All right." She said out loud. "Well, Janus... I'll be going." She walked to the top of the stairwell, then stopped as she caught sight of three people she hadn't seen before. There was a confident and honest air about the leader of the group that intrigued her. "Oh! Who might you be?" She asked all of them, but him in particular.

"Miss Schala, please hurry." The messenger urged her, ignoring them. "If you're late, I'll be punished!"

"Oh yes, I'm sorry." She apologized, cursing another of Zeal's new policies.

Janus watched Schala and the messenger disappear, then, with some annoyance, saw the three people he had run into at Enhasa come up the stairs. He had been curious about them at the time, but he didn't want to see them now. Especially seeing as the black wind seemed to follow them. He turned his back on the strangers. Oddly, the leader of the group didn't take the hint, and approached Alfador instead. "Don't waste your time. Alfador only likes me." He informed them, before turning his back again. Alfador meowed to emphasize the point.

The leader of the group came around the table and looked him straight in the eye. "Go away." Janus ordered, unflinching. He wasn't in the mood for this. The leader finally shrugged, and all three of them went back down the stairs. Janus looked out the window and sighed. His sister was still alive, he was sure of that. He just wasn't sure how to get her to see it.

.

Zeal was giving another melodramatic speech about the virtues of the Ocean Palace, when an odd noise was heard in the throne room. She, the prophet, Dalton, and Schala, all turned around. They all saw that the noise had been made when the door opened, which should have been an impossibility. Voices came from the other side. "Yea, we did it!"

"Ayla go! No fear, Crono!" As the three people everyone but Zeal had seen before strode into the room, Schala briefly wondered if that was the leader's name. Maybe he was a warrior of time. Then she thought back to what Vigo had said. Maybe the unusual quality about him that she couldn't quite place marked him as another hero of the ages. In any case, he wouldn't know himself, and she didn't have the chance to wonder for long.

Zeal jumped up on her throne, extremely angry. "Who are you!? How did you get in here?" She demanded at once.

Magus was seething with anger. These were the cretins that had aided Glenn. And if they had found their way here, it was a cinch that Glenn could too. He had to get rid of them before their amphibious friend could follow. "Your majesty... They are the evildoers I warned you of." he said gravely.

If possible, Zeal became even more agitated. "How DARE you think you could oppose me, you...foreigners! You're worse than the Gurus!" She pointed at them accusingly. "Fools! Dalton, take them away!" Schala groaned inwardly. She knew what that meant. It looked like she wouldn't get the chance to find out much about these visitors.

"Yes, ma'am! By your leave..." Dalton appeared eager to serve. "Golem!" He shouted as he stretched his arm out, then teleported them all away to a special room that had been constructed just behind the throne room just for this sort of purpose.

Schala didn't know what morbid curiosity forced her to watch, but watch she did. As she had thought, the Golem proceeded to decimate them with iron balls and other odd attacks. But something was odd here. The travellers didn't simply submit, and cower on the floor. Slowly but surely, they turned the tables on the Golem, alternating between lightning and ice attacks, occasionally nailing it with a good physical hit. Finally, after another iron ball, the leader of the group rushed forward, his spiky hair flying wildly. He ran around the Golem in a tight circle, slashing rapidly with his oddly curved sword. As he jumped away, Schala was delighted to see the Golem collapse, then explode. Enraged, Dalton immediately 'ported them all back into the room. "My poor Golem! That was inexcusable!" He yelled at them.

Zeal seemed pretty unhappy as well. "Mwa, ha, ha... Fear not! You won't die...immediately, that is!" The three strangers gave each other skewed glances. They had already figured that part out, or so they thought. Suddenly, an odd beam of light shot up from the floor, and the three were imprisoned inside an oddly glowing pyramid. The energy that coursed through their bodies didn't seem to be the healing variety either. "But by the time we're through with you, you'll be begging us to end your suffering." Zeal taunted them. "What a delicious diversion!" Schala cringed. These people had been in a no win situation. Sort of like her...

.

Even though it had been at his prompting, Janus was glad to see Schala leading the way into the room directly below the Mammon Machine, where such "dissidents" were often kept. "Hmph! Idiots..." He said crossly, still not able to believe that they had just waltzed into Zeal's throne room. "What will you do, Schala?" He asked, because he really wasn't sure.

"Let us rescue them." She said simply. Hope soared in Janus' chest, but he had to test her.

"I think it's useless." He said in his usually cranky way. "Besides, if they escape, you'll be in trouble."

"Don't worry about me." Janus smiled inwardly, although he kept a sour expression on his face. "They just might be able to rescue the Gurus." She told him. He hadn't been aware that anyone besides Melchior was in trouble, but since the Gurus had always been on Schala's side, it stood to reason. Schala quickly walked forward and pushed a button where the energy was flowing. The three strangers drifted out of Lavos' residue, and collapsed on the floor. The leader rose to his knees, looking at Schala with surprise.

"Are you all right?" She asked with genuine concern. "Quickly, escape from the palace! And if you can, please rescue Melchior!" He really shouldn't have a clue what she was talking about, but his eyebrows shot up with surprise when she mentioned Melchior. She elaborated anyway. "He was sent to the Mountain of Woe for opposing the Queen. Please! You have to help him!"

The spiky red hair was just beginning to bob in a nod, when a low voice drifted into the room. "I'm afraid I can't allow that..." Magus strode into the room with his typical arrogant swagger. He had grown used to annoying Schala, even though he didn't wish to do so. But he turned his attention from her as soon as he noticed Crono kneeling on the floor. "Your meddling tires me." He growled menacingly. "You'll... Just have to disappear!"

"You mustn't!" Schala cried.

'Mustn't?' Magus wondered. 'Schala, if you're going to use contractions, don't mix them with your formal talk.' But nevertheless, he was surprised by any show of resistance from her. Apparently, he had forgotten more than he had thought. He hesitated for a moment.

"Stop!" Janus too, stepped in front of him, and even Alfador added his own surprisingly imperious order. Magus had long made it a policy only to take orders from himself. But technically, the kid WAS himself. He stopped for a moment.

"Okay... I'll spare them." He reluctantly said, quietly. Then he whirled around. "But in return, you WILL cooperate, Schala!" Then he walked over to Crono, his expression growing even more severe. "Now, show me how you came here."

.

The five stood, looking at a glowing blue orb. Schala had no idea what it was, although everyone else did. "Hmm...so you came in through here." Magus growled, not overly surprised. He turned to Schala. "Now Schala! After I throw them in, I want you to seal the portal shut."

"N-no! You can't make me!" She was resisting again! He would have been glad, if he didn't have other objectives in mind at the moment.

"Obey me! Their lives are at stake!" He came close to shouting.

"I...oh, all right..." Schala's small amount of newfound willpower collapsed. Magus roughly shoved Crono and his cohorts toward the gate. In the brief seconds between the gate's opening and closing, Crono shot Schala a look that plainly said, 'I'll be back!' Then he pumped his arm in a victory salute, and the gate swallowed him. Schala stretched her arms out, and used a portion of her now severely restricted magic to put a barrier around the gate. Once the purple pyramid formed, Magus left without another word. "Please forgive me..." Schala whispered quietly, dropping to her knees.

.

"Why did the Prophet let us go?" Marle demanded back in 65,000,000 B.C. She glared at the purple barrier, but it didn't budge. She thought Crono might have some ideas, but as usual, he didn't volunteer any information.

Ayla broke in with her own concern. "They take energy from Lavos. Lavos not get weak?" Crono and Marle shrugged. It didn't look that way.

Marle suddenly snapped her finger. "Wait a minute. I've seen the design on the doors this pendant opens, somewhere else..." She thought for a few moments. She had seen that crest on small, black boxes scattered throughout time, but the main place she had really noticed them was in the far future. Specifically, the old man's dome, next to Death Peak. She mentioned as much to the group. "Let's check it out, Crono!" Crono nodded, and the three ran off back toward the Mystic Mountains, to try once again to change history...

.

"I'll put an end to this myself!" - Janus


	26. Assassin

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 26**

**Assassin**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Dalton was sitting late in his own study, poring over his Golem designs. He had planned to keep making more of the basic model, but if they kept actually being defeated like this, that would not be a wise thing to do. After all, there was only a certain amount of Serges' armor to go around. Perhaps if he combined all the remaining armor into one super Golem, a sort of Golem Boss, that would ensure that at least one Golem would always be around. He sketched about how thick the armor on the Golem Boss would be, using what materials he had now, and smiled. That amazing sword attack the boy had used to destroy the standard Golem would hardly make a dent in it. Of course, a war machine of that caliber would also have to be more intelligent...

His thoughts froze as he heard the faint sound of metal grinding against metal. Turning slowly around, he saw Ertai in the doorway behind him. The boy, no, he must be fourteen now, the teen was dressed all in black, and burdened with the weight of at least a dozen swords strapped to his back. He wore a belt and shoulder strap full of devices Dalton didn't recognize, and held an odd, ominous looking object in his hand. "I think you know why I'm here." He growled.

"Now is not a good time." Dalton hissed.

"You promised to let me kill you. I think you've forgotten that promise. When would be a good time? Zeal's already enslaved thousands of the Earthbound ones. I think now is a good time to stop you from helping her enslave even more."

"I'm working on it."

"No, you're not. You no longer have any free will. You're just an agent of Lavos."

"Fine. If you're going to be that way..." Dalton stood up and drew his sword. "I don't know how you expect to defeat me with all those swords weighing you down."

"Movement is a secondary priority." Ertai said in a neutral voice. He pulled one of the swords out of its sheath on his back, but instead of holding it forward, inserted it into the device in his hand. "I think you'll be doing most of the moving, unless you're prepared to make good on your promise."

"Lavos won't let me." Dalton said, gritting his teeth.

"I thought so. Time to die, Dalton."

"Your brother said the same thing, and he failed."

"Greven's only shortcoming was his failure to plan adequetly. I've been scheming this for two years. Now that's enough time stalling. Prepare yourself for the void!" Before Dalton could make a move, Ertai pulled a small metal rod sticking out from the device he carried. There was a small explosion inside, and the sword launched forward at an amazing speed. It tore through Dalton's cape as he desperately jumped to the side, and buried itself in the wall halfway to the hilt, sending pieces of brick flying. Not wasting time, Ertai quickly unsheathed another sword and loaded it into the launcher. He aimed it at the spot on the floor where Dalton was struggling up. The mage lunged upward in time to avoid a fatal injury, but the sword went through his left arm, pinning him to the spot.

Ertai grabbed a circular device from his belt, and threw it into the launcher. As he yanked hard on the metal rod again, the object flew forward, then erupted into an explosion that filled half the room. As the smoke dissipated, Dalton reappeared out of thin air, then cast a spell to heal his arm. "My turn." He grinned. An iron orb fell flat on Ertai, smashing him into the floor. Or at least, it appeared that way. But Ertai vanished from underneath and reappeared sitting on top of the orb. Dalton gaped. Teleportation was supposed to require at least some charge up time. But Ertai had just 'ported instantaneously. Ertai swung his device in a circle behind him. When he lowered it again, there was another sword sticking out of it.

"A wasted turn, at that." Ertai pulled the rod, and the sword raced into Dalton's torso, carried him back and pinned him into the wall. Grimacing, Dalton ripped the sword out, screaming in pain as he did so. He quickly healed himself again.

"You little punk! You just couldn't handle a magical battle, could you?!" Ertai grinned and stretched out his hand. A deadly mixture of fire and lightning washed over Dalton, and he collapsed to the floor.

"I see you're not too fond of the Vigo special. Do you prefer it to Melchior's inventions?"

"How did Melchior manage to help you? That old geezer is dead!"

"Maybe. I just threw together everything in his workshop. It's not being used much lately."

"Where have you been hiding?"

"Enhasa isn't the only place Belthasar has a secret room. Now that's enough stalling!" Ertai launched another circular device, and Dalton jumped aside as it exploded. "I would suggest you run." Ertai smiled sadistically and launched one of the explosives every few seconds, as Dalton ran down the hall.

Then suddenly, he was out, and Dalton was charging at him, sword in hand. Ertai swung the launcher up and fired a sword. Dalton jumped aside. Ertai fired another, missing again. By the time he loaded a third, Dalton was right on top of him. He lifted the sword and launcher up to block Dalton's blow. The force of it caused it to fly from his fingers, and Dalton nailed him in the head with his sword hilt on the backhand swing. "Shit!" Ertai shouted, grabbing for it. Dalton's sword came down just inches from his face, and his eyes widened. Ertai 'ported himself just behind and above Dalton, kicking the taller man in the head as gravity took hold again. Dalton whirled around and grabbed his belt and shoulder strap, then quickly slammed him into the wall. The way it was now, if Ertai teleported, Dalton was likely to follow. Reluctantly, he 'ported out of his equipment before Dalton could slam him again, instantly giving his enemy at least five swords.

Dalton drew the best looking one, and retained use of his own, then headed after Ertai. Realizing he was defenseless, Ertai scrambled for the launcher. Dalton threw the sword he had just picked up at Ertai, then picked the launcher up. Ertai tried to teleport it out of Dalton's hands, but the wizard instantly yanked it right back. Dalton backed him up against the wall, and was about to start gloating, when Ertai closed his eyes and stretched his arm out. After a few tense seconds, the launcher jerked away from Dalton and began blinking in and out of existence rapidly. Dalton realized that Ertai was teleporting it many times a second, so that it was impossible for him to get a fix on it. As the rapidly phasing object slowly made its way through the air toward Ertai, Dalton knew he should do something, but he couldn't. The teen was showing a true mastery of telekinesis. While a fair amount of the people in Zeal had knowledge of this unusual magical skill, most of them only used it to teleport themselves from place to place. No one else had anywhere close to this amount of skill.

Ertai heard feet running down the hall, and tried to hurry it up. As the launcher finally came to rest in his hands, he pointed it at Dalton's head. "Let's see how fast you regenerate when you don't have a brain to cast a spell with." He pulled on the rod, and the sword rocketed out faster than any of the others. Dalton jumped to the side, but his head was tilted at just the wrong angle, so that the sword cut through his good eye before passing into the wall. Ertai sadly realized he didn't have time to do anything else, and teleported away just as the first guards rounded the corner. However, he didn't leave the palace completely yet. There was someone he had to see first.

.

Schala awoke very slowly. The Nooze flowing through her was wearing out, and she was sluggish as a result. She became aware that someone was in standing beside her bed. "Don't be afraid Schala."

"Ertai?" She asked, almost excited.

"In the bruised flesh. Now, get up."

"Why? I'm so tired..."

"I know. Get up anyway, I don't have much time." Schala slowly complied. Ertai flicked his wrist, and the room took on a subdued glow. Ertai guided her to the full length mirror opposite the windows. "Look at yourself, and tell me what you see." Wondering what this was all about, she followed orders. Schala was surprised to see that Ertai was as tall as she was now. That brought her to consider her height. She had been growing a little lately. Then she considered other physical aspects of herself. Her legs were a little longer, her bust had filled out a little more, which was always a plus, she thought, and her facial features were a little more distinct.

"I've gotten older since the last time I saw you, but so have you."

"What caused it?"

She shrugged. "The Nooze, I guess."

"You're missing the point. Walk around." She proceeded to do so, looking confused. "Now," Ertai pointed at her, "look at yourself. Really look. Schala, you can't fake that walk!" He looked at the floor for a minute. "You've got to be a spirit, not a ghost. Look, whether you're breathing or not, you're still alive!"

"But what are you saying? What are you trying to get me to do?" She looked at him with pleading eyes.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. "Miss Schala, are you all right?" One of the guards shouted through the wall.

"My whole point is what I just said. You've got to be a spirit Schala, not some damned ghost." Then, just as the guards barged inside, he teleported away.

"That guy just blinded Lord Dalton! Are you all right?!" The guard demanded.

"I'd only be all right if Dalton had been killed." Schala mumbled, looking out the window.

.

Zeal, or more accurately, the soul of Zeal, sighed heavily as her body began the incantations to Lavos necessary to repair Dalton. The fact that disturbed her most was that she was sure her body would restore Dalton completely. He would be as good as new, if not better, while her little girl would continue to suffer. She reflected that the old Schala would have been annoyed to hear herself referred to as a "little girl," especially after Greven made her woman, so to speak. But the way she was now, she wouldn't care. 'But Schala will always be my little girl, and I'll always be her mother, if either of us survive this.'

She saw Dalton's compromised cornea slowly reassembling, the red glow of Lavos' energy slowly alternating to blue, until Dalton slowly began to blink. He rose to a kneeling position, and bowed. "I must apologize profusely, your majesty. I not only failed to stop an intruder in the palace, but allowed him to defeat me."

"As well you should apologize, you pathetic creature. But did you allow him to defeat you, or did he do it on his own?" She heard herself say.

"I allowed him." Dalton said fiercely, than volunteered no further information.

"I've begun to wonder about you lately Dalton. I hope that Lavos giving you back your gift of sight will help to ensure your loyalty."

"You can count on it, my liege."

From the corner of the hall, Janus watched the proceedings with a grim expression. The black wind was still blowing as strongly as before, so obviously it had not been screaming about Dalton biting the dust. It was giving a warning about someone more important. But who? As Janus tried hard to concentrate, the wind continued to howl...

.

"It tells you that the worst is coming. Do you listen?" - Lovisa Coldeyes


	27. Only An Epoch Away From the Terra Cave

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 27**

**Only An Epoch Away From The Terra Cave**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Crono looked around slowly as he entered the dome, still trying to scrape some of the sewer slime off of his clothes. This was where the old man had directed them. Crono didn't really see how finding some old guy in the future would help them return to the past, but he figured he would, in just a few minutes now. He saw Glenn point at something in front of them. He and Robo followed his line of sight, and spotted a Nu sleeping in front of a computer terminal. Crono walked up to it, then shook it awake. "Hey man, er, Nu, what happened to the old man? We need his help."

The Nu looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "The professor's programming was, in a sense, his own eulogy." Crono and the others bowed their heads, sighing. "Soon, I, too, will be able to sleep forever. But first... There is one thing I must do." Then the Nu remained silent for a good while. He seemed to be wracking his brain for something. "Program error... ..my memory banks have failed..." Then it fell back asleep.

"What the...? It's a robot?" Crono was surprised. He saw Robo's sensors click on, and he nodded. "Well we're in the right place. Let's keep looking." Crono walked around the dome, and soon noticed a door engraved with the crest of the Mammon Machine. "Well, looks like this is the place." He held Marle's pendant up to the door, and it slid open with a low whir. Almost as soon as he stepped through to the other side, many glowing blue sparks appeared on the floor. Upon closer inspections, they looked more like the tabs they had occasionally found around the world, only a little bigger. "Huh...?" Crono wondered what they were for, and soon found out. As he stepped closer, the old man's voice filled the room.

"To those who opened the door... I am Belthasar, the Guru of Reason. I once lived in the kingdom of Zeal. A great disaster in Zeal somehow threw me into this era. To my surprise, Lavos exists here, and, I suspect, in other periods as well." So each spark was a sort of prerecorded message. Crono continued on the trail. "Aeons ago, Lavos descended from the heavens. Burrowing deep into the world's core, he began to consume our planet's energy, and grow stronger. Lavos disappeared briefly when he was summoned away by a mighty wizard who lived in Guardia, in the year 600." That would explain the exceptionally huge gate that had appeared in Magus' castle... "In 1999, Lavos claims this area, and reigns from high atop Death Peak. Lavos continues to replicate... like a giant parasite, he is consuming our world. Forced to live here, I continued to conduct research on Lavos. But I am growing old. And it's impossible to keep sane in such trying times. So before I lose it completely, I shall safeguard my data, and my ultimate creation... How I long to return home... But I have grown frail..." Crono began to wonder is the message was entirely prerecorded after all. "So you... YOU, who have opened the door! I leave things in your hands. Only by mastering time, itself, do you stand a chance against Lavos. The odds will be against you... But you are true heroes. The world is in your hands. Open, now, the last door, and take what you find there. My last invention... My "Wings of Time..."

Crono walked up to the next door, and used the pendant to open it as well. All were quite impressed with what they saw, and walked around it to take a closer look. "The Wings of Time... I believe I have heard of this device." Robo said quietly.

"This...moves through time?" Glenn found it hard to believe.

"I think so." Crono shrugged. "But, how do we get in?" He didn't see any real way up. But that didn't matter, because there weren't any seats inside of the thing. "Looks like there's some assembly required." He groaned. "All right, let's search the rest of the dome for parts..." They started walking back out of the room, when the Nu popped into view.

"Scared you, didn't I?" It grinned as it pushed three seats into the chamber. "It's me... BELTHASAR. I copied my memory into this thing. What do you think?" Crono shrugged, a little indifferent. "Anyway, there's something I need to explain. Namely, how to transcend time! This is the time gauge." He pointed to a decidedly odd looking device. "Use the steering controls to select an era. Oh yeah! Before you go, why don't you..." Suddenly, he fell asleep. Apparently the body still retained some of its Nu traits. Crono poked him. "...name my time machine!" He exclaimed as if nothing had happened.

"Well, if we're going to be doing a lot more time travelling, Epoch seems appropriate." Crono suggested.

"Hop aboard!" The Nu exclaimed. Crono, Glenn, and Robo hopped into the seats, and they were slowly raised up into the cockpit. The Nu, which was already asleep again, only mumbled.

"We should probably head back to the End of Time first." Crono set the dial. The others nodded. He pushed, the ignition button, and the walls seemed to blur. Then suddenly, they were surrounded by fire.

"What's happening?!" Glenn exclaimed, alarmed.

"Even in my time, we did not have such devices!" Robo said excitedly.

"Epoch's capable of THIS?!" Crono was surprised too.

Then suddenly they were out of it, sitting just below the dock at the End of Time. "Hey." The old man called to them immediately. Crono ran over to him. "Interesting. So he actually finished the Wings of Time. In fact, gave his life for it!" The old man mused. "Why not put that device to good use? Take it to the ancient Land of Magic!"

"I have no problem with that!" Crono smiled. He ran back down the dock and jumped into the cockpit, then set the dial to 12,000 B.C. and fired it up.

.

The Epoch phased in not very far from the cave where they had appeared the first time. They all made a dash for the skyway through the blowing snow. But once they were inside, they found that the glowing purples runes no longer propelled them upward. "Looks like someone locked the door." Crono grimaced. "Well, is this the only skyway?" Robo and Glenn shrugged. "Let's get searching then!" They raced back past the Epoch, and soon spotted another cave. It didn't look like a skyway, but as the gusts lowered for a second, Crono saw a floating mountain chained to the ground across a narrow strait of water. "Whoa! I have to find out what's up with that place!"

The team hurried inside the cave, and found a village of sorts carved into the dark recesses. The people there didn't seem overly happy. One man Crono spoke to summed it up best. "The Queen put the Mammon Machine in the Ocean Palace to absorb Lavos's energy. Is that safe?" Then high sighed, and looked even more miserable than he had been looking. "She locked the Guru of Life up on the Mountain of Woe for opposing her. The situation's hopeless."

After him, Crono ran into a man who seemed to be the elder of the village, who provided a little more information about Zeal kingdom. "The Guru of Life said that Sir Janus has stronger powers than even Miss Schala! Janus must be using her and the Queen to get to Lavos..."

Most of the people in town complained of similar woes. Their complaints boiled down to several basic points. They didn't have magic, so they couldn't live in Zeal, only Schala and the Gurus ever talked to them, and finally, Zeal was taking most of them away to work on her Ocean Palace. Crono could sympathize with them, but he began to wonder why they just didn't clam up and do something about it. He had talked to nearly everyone, and was beginning to get bored with the place, when he ran into a small boy near the bottom of the cave system. "The Beast's nest is dangerous." He pointed to a gaping, dark cave at the very bottom of the town. "Better stay away, okay?" Glenn saw Crono's eyes light up at the challenge. They raced toward the cave, but Crono stopped to check with a guy standing by the entrance in case the kid had been pulling his leg.

"This hole leads to the Beast's nest." He nodded. "Through the nest you'll reach the place of chains, which anchors the Mountain of Woe."

"That's all I needed to hear." Crono grinned at the others, and they raced inside. Almost immediately, two large yellow beasts ran forward to challenge them. Crono was a little wary of the horns on their heads, but he had expected something a little more fierce. He changed his mind real quickly when one of the beasts charged forward and trampled him into the ground. Robo and Glenn nailed it with a Blade Toss, and it collapsed. Crono and Glenn used Spire on the other, and it collapsed as well.

Upon hearing the commotion, two other beasts charged forward. Crono zapped them with lightning, but that only served to make them mad. One charged him with it's horns, but Crono counterattacked, slashing it right between the eyes. Glenn and Robo Blade Tossed again, putting the final beast down for the count. Crono quickly scanned for any more. "That was it?" He demanded. Then he noticed a set of stairs carved into the rock, leading up to yet another dark cave. "Well, well. It looks like people used to live here. I wonder what happened." The others shrugged. Crono slowly walked up the stairs and into the next cave. He saw two more of the beasts sniffing around. But these two seemed special. One had a shocking orange coat of fur, and the other, an icy blue. They didn't seem to notice him, until an imp, of all things, slid down a huge chain behind them.

"You can't pass through here!" It screamed at them. Crono almost laughed, until it kicked a rock at the orange beast. It charged forward, knocking him on his back. Crono and Glenn used Swordstream on the orange beast until it bit the dust. Then they all worked down the other one with their regular weapons. The beasts were quite fond of charging, but fortunately, their fur color did not seem to indicate any special abilities. Finally, the blue beast collapsed as well. Crono sighed and leaned back on his sword, until the imp kicked a rock at him.

"You have to be kidding me." He laughed. The imp threw another rock that nailed him in the head. "Ow!! Fine then, let's Triple Raid the little goon!" Crono, Glenn, and Robo all smashed into the imp at the same time, and it quickly expired. Crono looked up the chain, and his eyes widened. "This is the chain holding that mountain in place. I think we can climb up." Without another word, they all began to scale the chain up to the Mountain of Woe.

.

"Can you prepare for the unexpected? No. You can prepare only to be surprised." - Teferi


	28. The Guru On Mount Woe

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 28**

**The Guru On Mount Woe**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

The Mountain of Woe seemed like a mountain being punished for some unspeakable crime. Through the cold fog, the exceptionally green grass and wild flowers were plainly visible. But the peak was rent into many pieces, held together only by huge, ugly chains. It wasn't that far to the top, but since there was no direct route, the climb required a lot more chain walking. Amid the chains were hordes of Mystics, and it took a fair effort to constantly repel their attacks. Toward the top, Crono began noticing some of the rocks looked like they had been blown apart with a strong fire. He used the gate key to replace Robo with Marle, in case they needed to unleash Arc Impulse.

When they reached the top, it seemed to be a good thing that they had. The top of the mountain was shrouded in dark, forbidding clouds. But the top was actually a crater. It looked at though a huge explosion had hollowed out the core of the mountain. But there was evidence of past human habitation. Their was a small set of stairs leading up to a podium, upon which sat what looked like a gigantic block of ice, but all three felt some odd magic flowing from it.

"The Guru of Life's trapped in here." Marle realized. As Crono stepped forward, the block began to glow, and slowly fade away.

"'Tis disappearing!" Glenn cried. As soon as it faded from view completely, an exceptionally large creature rose up from out of the crater. It had huge, spiked armor on its shoulders, and its head looked vaguely like a bat.

"Oh, this is gonna be trouble." Crono gulped. Almost as he spoke, two large blasts of fire launched from each of the monster's arms. That was followed immediately by a very odd Shadow attack. Crono had had just about enough of that kind of treatment. He drew six magical waves together, and merged them into one huge lightning explosion. The huge creature was surprised, and a look of recognition seemed to form on its face. While it was staring at them, Glenn jumped up in a Leap Slash, and sheared off its right arm. Its left reached menacingly for Marle, but Crono buried his sword into it just as Marle cast Ice 2. The arm fell off. Crono waited for the monster to keel over, but it never did. "All right then, if that's the way it's going to be." All three concentrated, then leapt up in the devastating attack known as Arc Impulse.

The monster just sat, glaring at them. Then the ground shook, and the arms were back! The fire attack came again, but this time, it seemed the creature aimed it specifically at Marle. Glenn and Marle cast Glacier on him, and Crono cut loose with another Luminaire. The arms vaporised again, and the three set up for another Arc Impulse. As Crono buried his sword in the creature's skull, it glared fiercely at him, then exploded into many red and white sparks, which slowly drifted back into the crater. As they faded from view, the ice like structure came back into view on the podium. It began to fade again, but this time it revealed a figure inside.

"M,Melchior?!" Marle stammered.

Melchior groggily rubbed his eyes, then spoke. :Indeed, I am Melchior. Have we... met before?" He didn't give them time to answer. "More importantly, can you tell me anything about the Ocean Palace?" Crono shrugged, then told him everything that he thought could be related to the subject. Melchior's expression turned grave. "I see...the Queen has degenerated to that degree..." He remained silent for a moment, then spoke to them again. "The more energy the Mammon Machine absorbs, the further the Queen degenerates. Her spirit has been stolen by the infamous immortal, Lavos." The look on their faces told them they already knew plenty about Lavos. Suddenly, the mountain began shaking violently. "We must flee! The seal has been broken! The mountain will collapse!"

Indeed, as he spoke the words, Melchior felt the Weapon magic that bound Shivan to the mountain snap, creating a magical backlash that swept over the land, obliterating the shield on the Time Gate. Without any power running through them, his chains broke like twigs, and the mountain began to sink toward the ground. Crono felt it, and he pulled Melchior over to one dangling chain.

"Get going, as fast as you can. If there's no ground at the end, just let go. We'll be right behind you." Melchior gulped, but quickly slid down the chain anyway. He sensed this wasn't the kind of man to argue with.

.

Even the people down in the Terra Cave felt the disturbance. "Elder! The Mountain of Woe is about to crumble!!" A man ran into the elder's cave, then rushed back out.

The people were about to panic as the rumbling increased. Since the beasts had been cleaned out, many of them ran to the Place of Chains. "Mommy, the mountain's gonna fall!" The first boy who reached the scene reported. The townspeople gathered under the opening to watch the goings on.

Outside, the wind stopped for one brief moment. Then the main chain binding the mountain snapped, and it slowly sank into the Ocean. Mount Woe was no more. After 18 years, Enhasa was again joined with the planet.

.

Melchior paced back and forth in the Elder of Algetty's cave, still trying to calm down from his extremely rapid descent. Crono, on the other hand, seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed himself. "Lavos sleeps deep underground, while consuming the energy of this planet." He explained to them. "If the Mammon Machine is brought closer to him, he may awaken! We must hurry before it's too late!" The elder seemed to share his concern.

The same man who had reported the mountain's falling burst in. "Elder! Schala is here!"

"What? Schala's here?" Melchior smiled. It was good to know she seemed to still be on the side of the Earthbound. As the man left, Schala strode into the cave in a much more confident manner than he remembered from the last time he had seen her.

"Miss Schala... why have you come to such a miserable place?" The elder broke the ice.

"Stop degrading yourselves!" She immediately scolded him. "We Enlightened Ones were once the same as you. The only difference is that we are under Lavos's control..."

Janus was bursting with pride inside. She was confident, cynical, and talking like a regular person. She was back! He didn't know what had triggered this, but he was grateful to whoever was responsible. Then he noticed two of the people he had seen earlier, along with a humanoid frog. He took an immediate dislike to the frog, and decided that with all these people here, he couldn't show how happy he was. He turned around, then proclaimed, in his usually cranky way, "What a filthy hovel." Schala didn't pay any attention to him.

"Melchior... After the Mountain of Woe fell, I thought I would find you here!" She smiled at him.

Inside, Melchior was feeling much the same as Janus, but he had to test her on this. "Is is safe for you to leave the palace?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"That no longer matters!" She waved that concern confidently aside, then her face turned grave. "The Ocean Palace is now operational!"

'My god, that was fast!' Melchior thought. "Then all is lost!" He said out loud.

She shook her head. "But without me, the Mammon Machine won't work. I have turned my back on that evil device!" She remained silent for a moment, as if that had taken some effort. Then she turned to Crono. "I've kept the skyway open. Hurry! You must stop... my mother!"

So she still didn't want to fight herself... Melchior was pleased with this turn of events, but he figured he could help speed things along. He reached behind his belt for Vigo's dagger. Maybe the sight of it would prompt Schala to accompany them.

"Why don't we keep it right there..." A voice drifted into the chamber.

"Dalton!" Schala backed up, and felt her will disintegrating.

"Tisk, tisk my dear. Your presence is required elsewhere!" Dalton arrogantly swaggered into the room.

Melchior had grown used to not having Dalton around over the past year, and he wasn't ready to start putting up with him again. "Dalton! Leave her alone!" He ordered.

"Ah! The geezer speaks!" Dalton laughed. "Silence, old man!" In case Melchior wasn't going to comply with that order, Dalton also sent him sprawling to the ground with a well timed fireball.

"Argh!" Melchior cursed. While he was temporarily out for the count, Dalton rushed forward and forced Schala to her knees.

"You'll come to the Ocean Palace with me." He ordered. Then he glared at Crono and the others. "Do anything funny, and Schala's dust. Got it?"

Janus obviously did not get it. "Schala!" He charged at Dalton with all his six year old fury. Dalton sent him sprawling into the wall with a massive punch.

"The Queen's children all seem to have a problem with authority, don't they?" He joked to himself. Crono had had just about enough of Dalton's arrogance, and he whipped out his katana. Glenn drew his own sword, and Marle levelled her crossbow at him. "Stay back. The life of this woman means nothing to me!" Crono grimaced, but quickly sheathed his sword.

'No!!' Schala called out to them mentally. 'I'm not alive! He can't do anything to hurt me! Come on!' She tried to break free of Dalton's grip. It soon became painfully obvious that none of them had any powers of telepathy.

'Is that a fact?' Dalton asked her in a smug tone. She felt him do a quick magical scan of her body. 'I see you used the pendant to charge up your Nooze. Unfortunately, that's all Lavos energy.' Suddenly, Schala couldn't see. She could no longer feel Dalton's arms restraining her. She couldn't move at all. 'You want to even simulate anything close to living, you better come with me. Believe me, I know of ways to hurt you.'

"Shall we get going, Schala dear? Your mother awaits!" He said out loud, then teleported them both away. Janus immediately jumped up and ran out of the room. He wasn't going to let Schala lose what she had so recently recovered. If he could do something about Dalton, that would be a bonus too...

"Melchior!" Glenn exclaimed, concerned.

"I'm all right." Melchior rubbed his back. "But we must save Schala, or else..."

"Impossible!" The elder gasped. "Even though it's coming from YOU, Melchior..."

"If the Queen is allowed to fulfill her scheme, all life as we know it is doomed!" Melchior shouted, exaggerating a little. Crono immediately stepped forward, shaking his head. Melchior looked up hopefully. "You're willing to challenge the Queen?"

"You better believe it!" He smiled, nodding. "Besides, that Dalton guy needs a good ass kicking."

Melchior smiled. He would be willing to bet this young man could do it too. "You've done so much for us... ..and I don't even know your names!" He exclaimed.

Marle burst out laughing. "You'll find out soon enough!"

"What ARE you talking about?" Melchior scratched his head.

"Crono, let us be on our way!" Glenn proclaimed.

Melchior held up his hand. "Wait, take this with you." He drew Vigo's dagger out from behind his belt. "It's made from the same red stone as the Mammon Machine. With it, you can destroy the Machine!" 'I hope.' He amended to himself.

The elder looked especially depressed. "What's wrong?" Crono asked him.

He sighed. "Schala's been abducted. But without Sorcery, we can't do a thing."

"We'll take care of it." Crono assured him.

Everyone looked sad as they left Algetty, but one small boy pretty much summed up what they were feeling with his cries. "Aaaahhh, Schala... Schala...!!"

Another boy wandered around quietly, saying, "Miss Schala, where have you gone?"

'Those sound like the lyrics to a song.' Crono thought. Well, he was about to change all those sad expressions. He quickly ran out of the Terra Cave, heading toward the skyway, and trusting that the others were following him.

Melchior watched them go, then sighed to himself. 'What a pity they can't teleport. They may be too late.' He stared at the ground for a few minutes, then sent out a call. 'Gaspar! I'm back! Could you tell me where the Ocean Palace is!'

Gaspar was slow to respond, as if he was just waking up. 'Melchior! Glad to have you back! What's the trouble?'

'There's hardly time to explain. Do you know where the hall of the Mammon Machine is in the Ocean Palace?'

'I believe so...'

'Good. We need to go, now.'

"Well Schala, I'm so glad you decided to join us!" Zeal's learing face greeted her as the world reformed before her eyes. "We need you to start up the Mammon Machine. And I would suggest you not try to teleport away. I've got a shield on the palace, and Dalton and I know how to track you. Now get cracking."

Schala bowed. It didn't look like there was any way out. Suddenly, all three of the Gurus appeared just behind them. "That's far enough Zeal!" Melchior shouted. Dalton jumped forward, knocking all three of the old men to the ground.

"Your arrival couldn't have been more timely, gentlemen." Zeal smiled wickedly at them. "Schala, as insurance for your cooperation, if you try anything funny, they're all dead. Got it?"

"We do still have quite potent magic you know." Melchior glared at her. "Don't think we'd just be pushovers."

"Pushovers no." She admitted. "Defeatable, yes. Hurry it up Schala."

Schala looked desperately for some way out, but there was none. "All right." She reluctantly began the incantation to start up the Mammon Machine. After all, even if she was willing to sacrifice the Gurus and herself, the Lavos storage batteries up in Zeal would run out of juice before too long, and a whole lot of innocent people would be killed. A red light filled the chamber, and the Mammon machine began to whir. But something was wrong this time. Lightning also coursed out of the machine, and the red light began to pulsate erratically. Odd images began to form in the depths of the machine. Dalton quickly exited the room.

Despite the danger, Gaspar leaned forward intently. "Hmm...! A dimensional warp!" He exclaimed.

"This power is beyond human control!" Belthasar shouted above the noise.

Melchior viewed the energy with growing unease. It seemed to be reaching out toward them. "No...! We'll be dragged into the warp!" Spekkio happened upon the scene at the mention of a dimensional warp, but quickly shrank back into the shadows. To get a better look, he transformed himself into a small blue spark, barely noticeable, and drifted toward Gaspar.

As if the situation wasn't chaotic enough already, Janus ran into the room, Alfador following close behind. "SCHALA!!" He shouted upon seeing the machine.

"No Janus!! Stay away!" She waved him back urgently.

"B,but!?" He protested, unwilling to give up. Suddenly, the machine lurched. They were all transported to an oddly warping zone, and the monstrosity known as Lavos appeared where the Mammon Machine had been. But no one really had time to be afraid. An odd black circle appeared under Melchior's feet.

"It, it's a...!!" And then he was gone.

"A Timegate!?" Gaspar exclaimed, as another circle swallowed him. Before it closed, Spekkio rushed forward and followed him in. This place was getting a little too dramatic for him anyway.

"No!!" Belthasar shouted simply. Then he, too, was gone.

Even Janus was not immune. "S,Schalaaa!!" He cried desperately, then he disappeared, leaving a stunned cat behind.

"Janus!!" Schala shrieked. She had expected herself to be a casualty, not Janus. Her spirits sank further as she realized that Lavos was not about to oblige her by spiriting her away too. Then Lavos screamed. The same blood freezing scream that had been haunting her in the link, and in death. Any spirit remaining in Schala broke again at that point.

.

Ertai tried to remain inconspicuous as the Zealian guards raced past him. After Dalton had survived his assassination attempt, he had decided it was too dangerous to go back to Belthasar's secret room in Kajar. He had disguised himself as an Earthbound One, and had been summarily forced to work on the Ocean Palace. He just hoped no one would ever bother to scan him magically, or he would be toast.

As he finished replacing a blown warning light, he heard a scream behind him. Whirling around, he saw one of his fellow workers being sucked into an odd, black portal. He began slowly backing away, when he heard an odd whirring noise behind him. Turning around, he found himself facing the same type of portal. "What the hell?!" He shouted. Then, he was sucked in.

.

Gaspar landed in the middle of dark, swirling mists, not noticing Spekkio landing beside him. "Th, this is..." He stammered. "Hey. Nothing here... This must be... ..the End of Time..."

.

Magus walked slowly into the hall of the Mammon machine, almost overwhelmed by the sadness that hung over Schala. "Where is everyone? Was there an accident?" He asked Zeal, knowing full well that there had been. He hoped she wouldn't ask him for any more predictions. From here on, he was living everything for the first time.

"In a way." She conceded. "But Prophet, it was glorious! I met Lavos, in person! I don't know why he left, but I pray he will be back soon."

'He better be.' Magus glowered angrily. 'He has a date with death.'

.

"At this rate, you too, will meet a hideous fate." - Janus

Nanaki: Well, how 'bout it, any poetically oriented people out there? If anyone can come up with a good song or poem from that theme, I'll ask Icy to post it up in my section. Hell, I'll be lucky if I get any song or poem. Also, anyone who can tell me why Giga Gaia concentrated his attack on Marle will get special mention in the last chapter of my next story, since I'll probably be done with the last chapter of this one in about four hours now. Talk to you later!

(Nanaki's note: Man, I was way too high on my own success back when I wrote this, what with all the little contests I kept doing. Though I DID get some responses for each one. Once again, my post-quote note there is ten years old, so please disregard. Though if you REALLY want to send me a poem, knock yourself out.)


	29. The Ocean Palace

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 29**

**The Ocean Palace**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Dalton sat glowering in the throne room. "Phooey! Why is the Prophet allowed inside while I'm stuck with guard duty?" He asked himself, although he knew perfectly well. After his cowardly act earlier, Zeal had sent him up here to guard the only entrance for those Zealians unable to teleport. He wished there was something to ease his boredom. As if on cue, the door whooshed open, and Crono, Marle, and Glenn ran inside. "Ha! There you are..." He grinned fiercely at them. "I let the Prophet go, knowing he'd mess up sooner or later. But I've no use for you anymore. You're history!" All three of them glared at him and assumed a battle stance. Two Arc Impulses later, Dalton was sprawled on the floor, holding his head. "N...nooooo! I'm going to be immortal! I CAN'T be beaten now!" He jumped into the white light just in front of the throne. Not wasting a moment, Crono did too.

They landed in a decidedly unique place. But then, all of Zeal was decidedly unique. The floor was a dark gold color, although bright rivers of energy flowed throughout the floor. The walls were blue, with golden lights flashing rhythmically. Crono spotted Mune by the first door, and ran up to him.

"The black energy grows..." Mune sighed. "Something scary is waking up!"

.

Deep in the heart of the palace, Zeal was determined to get Lavos to show up again, and claim her immortality. "Schala, raise the power of the Mammon Machine to its limit!" She ordered imperiously. Schala just stood there broodily, making no motion. "Schala! You dare to disobey me?!"

"All right, mother..." Schala caved pretty quickly. 'It'll take a while to reach full power.' She warned Zeal privately, not knowing what she would want the guards who had gathered after the accident to know. She tried to make herself feel rage toward Zeal over Janus' loss, but she was still too consumed with sorrow.

'I can wait a few minutes for immortality.' Zeal responded. Schala stretched her arms out, and a glaring red light suffused the chamber. "Oh... what bright splendor! The incredible power of Lavos!!" Zeal proclaimed reverently.

"Aagh..." Schala gasped. The incredible amount of energy throbbing through the room was not exactly comforting. For a moment, the prophet almost looked concerned, but then he turned his attention back to the Mammon Machine.

.

After smashing through hordes of mutants and warrior mages, as well as legions of Dalton's best men, Crono was glad to see Masa perched in the middle of the longest stairway yet. "The ancient Red Rock has been passed down through the ages." He gave them a short history lesson. "From it, a magic pendant, and a knife were made. We embody Melchior's dreams, sealed, within the knife... Now hurry, if you plan to confront the Queen. We're counting on you!"

"We'll get her all right!" Crono grinned fiercely at him, then charged down the stairs.

.

The Mammon Machine was nearing maximum output, and Zeal was basking in the glow. "Ahh, I can feel it! The pulse of eternal life!! Ha, ha, ha...!" She was obviously happy.

"D...dark...force...wild energy...! Aughhh!" Schala screamed. While Zeal was thriving in the energy, it was taking a toll on her. The prophet seemed to step toward her for a second, but then restrained himself.

One of the guards obviously couldn't take Schala's suffering as well. It seemed the rumors he had heard about what Zeal had done to her were true. He ran up to Zeal. "The Mammon Machine! Your majesty, it's too dangerous!" Zeal whirled around and sent him flying with a lightning bolt. She was too anxious to take crap from some third rate flunky.

"Mother...!" Schala protested weakly.

"Don't stop Schala! We're almost there..." Zeal suddenly felt the need to encourage her. "Immortality will be ours! Zeal will have the glory it deserves! Mwa, ha, ha... Too long have I waited...!"

'Waited for what? This immortality desire is pretty recent.' Schala wondered to herself. The machine continued to rise in power...

.

Dalton was holding down the fort not very far away. If he could stop the intruders here, Zeal would never know that he had failed up above. As he had expected, Crono rushed into the room, then quickly drew his sword. "You made it THIS far. Maybe I underestimated you..." He pretended that he hadn't expected this. "But this is the end! THEY will take care of you! Come, GolemTwins!"

Dalton disappeared, and a huge black portal spit out two snarling Golems. Crono didn't take time to plan a strategy. Just Luminaire, Glacier, Arc Impulse. In that order, stopping every now and then to heal themselves. The Golem on the right expired first, but the left wasn't very fierce without the other. Before very long, two piles of yellow armor lay on the floor.

"They beat the GolemTwins!?" Dalton really couldn't believe his Golems were so ineffective. "All right, this calls for the GolemBoss." He stretched out his arm, but suddenly, red light filled the room. "W,what's this strange force?" He quickly regained his composure and put on an act to confuse Crono. "Could this be...Lavos's energy?! ...I've got a bad feeling about this..." It was obvious Crono did too. "All my work will be in vain if I expire before I'm immortal! This is your lucky day!" He taunted them. "Bye-bye!" With that, he teleported back out of the palace.

Without pausing, Crono charged forward again. Once inside the hall, he found a Nu cowering in the aisle. "This is the hall of the Mammon Machine..." It whispered, afraid. "Now is the time to turn back, nu..." With that, it jumped over the edge.

Crono shrugged again, and walked quietly forward toward the Mammon Machine. Marle spoke up first. "Schala! We're here to save you, c'mon!!"

"We shan't allow thee to meddle with Lavos, Queen!" Glenn shouted.

Schala whirled around, a hopeful look in her eyes. "You're-!" She began, but her voice was cut off as a power surge from the Mammon Machine surrounded her. She was surprised to find that it actually caused pain in her, where nothing had for so long. "Help!!" She cried out.

Magus couldn't stand it any more. "Schala...!" He cried out as well. Would Lavos show up before she died? He was beginning to feel afraid, for her, at least.

"What are you doing Schala?!" Zeal demanded. "I need your help here!"

"Crono...! The Red Knife!" Marle shouted urgently.

"Crono, use the old man's knife to stop the Machine!" Glenn was also urgent. Crono drew out the knife, and it flew into the air of its own volition.

"Here we go Mune!" Masa's voice came from the knife.

"Ready, big brother!" Mune said excitedly. The knife rushed up, then slammed down hard, embedding itself in the Mammon Machine. Huge bolts of Lavos' energy coursed through it, elongating it, until it was a genuine sword, and a fairly famous one, at that.

"T,'tis... ..the Masamune?!" Glenn could hardly believe it.

"Th, the Mammon Machine!?" Zeal was afraid it wouldn't be able to reach full power now.

"It's coming...!" Magus felt the undeniable presence of Lavos nearing the place.

"N,no stop!" Schala screamed. "That sword alone can't stop it!" Zeal felt relief. In that moment, the Mammon Machine reached full power. The room was bathed in a white glow, and everyone's eardrums throbbed with Lavos' scream. Crono, Marle, and Glenn rushed forward to challenge him. Zeal let them go, knowing they had no chance. Huge beams of fire shot out of Lavos' back, and landed on the three heroes. Marle and Glenn collapsed immediately, but Crono still stood on shaky feet. Gathering all his remaining strength, Crono launched himself at Lavos in his Confuse maneuver.

Lavos seemed unaffected by the supreme effort, and quickly cast Zone Chaos. When he saw that, while Crono's sanity might be in question, the boy was STILL alive, that tore it. He launched two huge needles at Crono, and the boy collapsed in a bloody heap. Lavos roared victory, pleased with himself. Even the mightiest of these humans was so weak...

Suddenly, the prophet appeared on the scene. "I've waited for this..." He said gravely. Magus threw of his hood, and all pretense. "I've been waiting for you, Lavos. I swore long ago... that I'd destroy you! No matter what the price! It is time to fulfill that vow. Feel my wrath, Lavos!!"

Lavos was amused by the puny creatures rants. 'Go ahead and try.' He thought. 'Didn't you see what I just did to that other guy? But if you want to die too, go right ahead. Just more DNA for me...'

"What do you think you can do?" Zeal echoed his sentiments. Zeal teleported herself and Schala onto the scene. Magus looked extremely pissed, but said nothing. "Hmph! A false prophet... You'll be a snack for the great Lavos!"

"Mother, please stop!" Schala stepped in front of her. "This power can only end in ruin!"

"Get away from there, Schala!" Zeal yelled.

'Get away from what?' Schala wondered.

"The almighty life force of Lavos lives in all of us... You are a part of it! You cannot change fate now! Oppose me and I will destroy you also!"

Schala wanted to say, "I think you've got Lavos confused with the lifestream," but before she could, Zeal jolted her with a bolt of Lavos' energy. So all that actually came out was, "Heeelp!"

Magus was momentarily torn between battling Lavos or Zeal, but he was saved the trouble when she jumped to what could be considered Lavos' shoulder. "Come Prophet, feel the power of Lavos!"

The same type of energy that had so recently damaged Schala surrounded Magus. "Ungh! Aaah!! My powers are being drained!" He struggled to break free. "Unghh... I won't... be beaten! I survived the darkness to defeat you, Lavos!" He succeeded in standing up, and the energy dissipated. Zeal looked surprised, to say the least. "Take this, Lavos! Aaugh!!" Magus charged forward, smashing into Lavos' front pod with his scythe. A blue light flashed, then a red glow lit up the odd zone. Suddenly, a wind began blowing out of Lavos' pod. "Wh,what...? It doesn't work?!" He couldn't believe it. Then, a blue light shot out of the pod, and he was sent flying through the air, landing hard. "Aughhh!!"

"Foolish one!" Zeal gloated. "Your measly power can't touch Lavos! This is from me to you! You shall enjoy eternal life... ..as part of Lavos! Uwa, ha, ha, ha...!"

Marle managed to raise herself to a kneeling position. "Can you move, Crono?" She called to him. "Please help Schala!"

Glenn regained consciousness also. "Magus! Thou art mine to defeat!" He shouted, but could not manage to stand.

Crono staggered to his feet, and ran over to Schala. "P...please escape... Crono!" She whispered pitifully. "Humans can't hope to defeat it."

"So! You are Crono." Zeal exclaimed. "Why don't you do as Schala says, and run away, yelping in terror? Isn't your life precious to you? Mwa, ha, ha!" Zeal baited him.

"S,Schala... Are you all right?" Magus called weakly.

Glenn automatically responded at the sound of his voice. "Aack...! Halt... Magus!"

"Crono... We can't leave Schala here." Marle called to him.

Crono noticed that they were all being pulled slowly toward Lavos' gaping maw. He could think of only one way to help everyone here. He slowly walked forward and stared Lavos in what resembled an eye.

"Haven't given up yet? What do you hope to do? You challenge Lavos with that battered body of yours?" Zeal laughed at him. "Mwa, ha, ha... See the power of Lavos and feel his wrath!" Crono began to float up in the air, a look of grim determination on his face. Something about that reminded the human deep inside of Zeal of Vigo. She wished what was about to happen wasn't going to.

Crono was about to launch into a Luminaire, when the same type of energy that had surrounded Magus surrounded him. Crono didn't give it up.

"Crono!!" Marle yelled, worried now.

"Desist Crono!!" Glenn pleaded. Crono paid no attention. A white light filled the room as Crono struggled to overcome Lavos' trap. Suddenly, the blue light that had thrown Magus erupted again. But since Crono was trapped in the strands of energy, it didn't throw him to the ground.

It blew him apart.

The pendant flew from his neck as he disintegrated, and everyone's world faded to black as Schala struggled to pull them away, too late.

"Crono...?" Marle called softly. "Crono...!"

They reappeared in front of the Mammon Machine, minus Crono, which was shaking violently now. "I can't... beat him." Magus cursed. "Lavos...!"

"Crono?" Marle called softly. "Where's Crono...!? NOOOO!!"

"Argh...!" Glenn cursed. "We must plan our escape! The Palace crumbles!"

Schala stepped forward. "The last of my pendant's power will send you to safety. I know you can't forgive her but... ..please don't hate mother, or our kingdom." She looked down at where Marle was weeping on the floor. "I'm so sorry! Now, off you go!"

Magus stepped forward, about to protest, but he realized he had nothing to say. He submitted to the teleportation. There would be another chance to kill Lavos. He just hoped there would be another chance for Schala.

Schala watched them go sadly. "Crono..." She whispered. 'What made you do that? Did you sacrifice yourself... ..for her?' Then, she stared down at the pendant. It was still glowing brightly. "Well, maybe being hit with Lavos' magic has an up side after all. In this case, I've got a revenge to plan too!" Schala began to teleport herself away, but before she could complete the process, a beam fell from the ceiling, crushing her skull. The Nooze worked frantically to reassemble her, but more of the palace was caving in now. Schala's body was buried under a sea of cold stone and, well, the sea, as water poured in the sides of the broken palace.

.

'Now that I've taken care of all these pesky critters, what is this thing sucking on my powers?' Lavos wondered to himself. 'That's just a little too much at once, I think. Where's it all going?' He quickly blasted a tunnel up to the surface to have a look. 'I see, it's all being poured into that big floating thing.' A pulsation in the Mammon Machine caused him to wince. 'Ow! Okay, you've been getting too many freebies.' He told any humans who were listening. 'Rent is due.'

Once again, huge beams of fire shot out of his back, and up into the floating islands that made up Zeal. The North Palace was the first to go. Almost every item inside was blown out, and scattered across the world, although the heart of the palace where the Swallow was stored remained intact. Then the beams of fire nailed the rest of Zeal, causing massive fires and explosions. The kingdom slowly blew apart, and began sinking toward the ocean.

.

This event did not go unnoticed in Algetty. The regular messenger ran into the elder's cave, screaming his head off. "A tidal wave!" Was all he could say.

Indeed, as what was left of the main continent of Zeal fell, Ocean levels across the world increased thousands of feet, burying all but the highest peaks. The Earthbound literally headed for the hills, as most of the world died, and Vigo's dream along with it.

.

Marle drifted in and out of an uneasy sleep. "Hmm... Uh... Crono... Crono...!"

Glenn too, had troubled sleep. "N... nooooo! Crono..., Crono...!"

Marle sat up, gasping. "Crono!!"

The elder of Algetty was there watching over them. "Um! You're awake! You were delirious."

"Crono!! Where's Crono?" She asked desperately.

"We found no one else..." He said apologetically.

"So it wasn't a dream." She sank to her knees.

"Be this the Earthbound Village?" Glenn stood up.

"This island was the only refuge left, after the Ocean Palace disaster." He explained.

"'Tis a pity..." Glenn bowed his head. "Whither hath old man Melchior gone?"

"People say when the disaster struck, and eerie, black portal materialized. Melchior tried to save Janus, but he was also dragged in."

"A "black portal?" Glenn exclaimed. "A GATE!!" He calmed himself down. "That maiden, Schala... Whither hath she gone?"

The elder shrugged again. "I don't know. No one has seen her since."

"Epoch! What fate hast befallen it?"

"Your ship is quite sturdy and safe. It's almost as if it followed you here..." The elder reassured him.

"Crono..." Marle couldn't bring herself to say anything else.

"Marle..." Glenn bowed his head again. "Thou hast lost thy friend before thine eyes. No words can comfort thee..." She remained silent.

"Oh, this must be yours." The elder placed an object in her hands.

"My... pendant. The one Crono held for me."

"Young lady, I found it on your shoulder, almost as if it were guarding you." The elder smiled gently.

"Crono..." She whispered again.

"Take all the time you need to rest. I will be in the commons."

.

"I like a man who comes to do his own dying." - Gerrard Capashen

"You didn't make him die!" - Daria


	30. The Blackbird

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 30**

**The Blackbird**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Glenn, Marle, and now, Ayla, wandered into the commons, which were really just a snow covered forest clearing. Glenn saw that a few Enlightened Ones had survived, and he went to talk to the first one he saw. "How can I survive in this land without my magic?" He complained. Glenn was about to say something, when an Earthbound man broke in.

"You don't need magic to survive. Besides, you're not alone!"

The Enlightened man brightened up. "You're absolutely right! We're alive, and there's always hope."

"The sea of clouds has parted and the blizzard has finally abated." An Earthbound woman observed. "Could the long winter finally be over?" Glenn looked around. Although it was still plenty cold, the sun was shining. A fair portion of the world HAD just been blasted by fire. Perhaps that had been enough to change the climate.

"All rested up?" The elder called to them. Before anyone else could see anything, a rough voice filled the commons.

"Bow, and pay homage to our new liege, King Dalton!" A fireball flew into the middle of the clearing, and Glenn jumped back. Dalton and three of his soldiers arrived on the scene.

"You there! What's wrong?! You're lucky to be alive!" He addressed the crowd. "The old crone and the pesky Gurus are gone. I now rename Zeal, the Kingdom of Dalton!" Then his eyes widened as he spotted Glenn. "YOU! You're alive!? Ah! That vehicle outside must be yours! It's just like the one Belthasar was building..." He paused for a moment. "I've decided you don't deserve such a splendid toy! Henceforth is shall be my personal chariot!"

"Come again, Sir?!" Glenn asked in a steely voice.

"You'll have to come with me! You might start a rebellion or something!" Dalton looked at them wickedly. "And now, as a token of my esteem for you... ..take this!!" He hurled a fireball at Glenn, which the frog easily deflected. "What? Grrrr." He growled angrily. "Ha! How's this?!" He quickly nailed all three of them with three huge fireballs, and they all collapsed. "Mwa, ha, ha! Enjoy a little taste of my true power!"

Glenn awoke in the middle of a sparsely furnished room. "Huh...?"

"Where are we?" Marle rubbed her head.

Ayla's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Weapons! All gone!"

"Our items too...!" Marle cried as she reached for an alternate weapon, only to find none.

"Confound it! The money too!!" His idea of buying weapons from a disloyal soldier went out the window.

"What do we do?..." Marle asked hopelessly.

"Ayla fight! Get all weapons back! Destroy bad man!!" Ayla shouted angrily.

Glenn noticed a ladder leading up out of their room, and he climbed up. His eyes bugged out in surprise as he saw a sea of clouds below them. "We're going up!"

"The sky!" Marle exclaimed. "So we're inside... ..The Blackbird?!"

Glenn didn't think they would survive jumping off the side, so he crawled back down the ladder. Ayla sniffed the air, then ran over to a section of the wall. "Breeze come in here." Glenn ran over, and spotted and air duct. He quickly jumped up, and discovered that they could move fairly freely in the darkness, as well as spy on their enemies. As they were running over the ventilation shafts, Glenn noticed the Epoch through one of them. He peered down to look. "They change Epoch!" Ayla cried.

"Shhhhh..." Glenn told her. Underneath, Dalton was supervising his soldiers.

"Pay close attention to what you're doing!" He yelled at them. "This will be my royal "Airthrone!" The world now belongs to me! Mwa, ha, hahahaha!"

'That evil laugh is getting really old, really fast.' Glenn thought. The trio travelled throughout the rest of the ship, slowly finding all of their possessions. It wasn't easy fighting without any weapons, but luckily, it seemed that all of Dalton's best men had gone down with the Ocean Palace. Soon, they found themselves on the Blackbird's left wing. They raced out and destroyed the gun turrets, and walked further out. Glenn hoped to spot some means of escape from the ship, or at the very least, to shut down the engines and force it to land.

Ayla suddenly sniffed the air and looked around.

"Something cometh!" Glenn too, felt growing unease.

"W,what's going on?" Marle demanded. Then, a huge black portal appeared in front of them. A Golem appeared in it, but something was different about this one. It had a reddish brown armor instead of the normal yellow. Marle and Glenn recognized it as the Golem Boss.

"Chew on this!!" It yelled in a gravelly voice, then began counting down from five. It got to zero, then looked over the edge of the wing. "Um..." Then he started counting from five again, amidst their attacks. He got to zero once more, then stopped again. "Impossible! I'm...s...scared...! I HATE heights!" He roared. Finally, Marle and Ayla nailed him with a Cube Toss, and he jumped into the air and disappeared.

"Ayla don't give up!!" Ayla shouted. Glenn nodded, but did not sheath his sword.

.

"Mwa, ha, ha..." Dalton was happy with himself. "It's complete! I've done it! See these beautiful wings! Now THIS is a King's throne. I now name it... The Aero-Dalton Imperial! And THEY'RE gonna be my first victims! Aero-Dalton Imperial, engage!" Dalton pressed the button, then got an unhappy look on his face. "No, no, no, no...! Stop the music!"

"What music?" One of the soldiers demanded.

"He's got a few screws loose, if you know what I mean." The soldier next to him said.

"Ha! There we go!" He looked much more pleased with himself now. "Ready for takeoff!" The bay doors opened, and sunlight streamed inside. "The Aero-Dalton Imperial! We have lift-off, Houston!!"

"Houston?" The soldier asked again. The one next to him just shrugged.

.

Marle was surprised to see the Epoch roaring past underneath the wing. "Look!" She pointed wildly.

"Epoch fly...?" Ayla was surprised too.

"It's flying?!" Glenn couldn't believe his eyes.

"It's not Epoch!" Dalton shouted at them. "It's the Aero-Dalton Imperial! Mwa, ha, haha!! You are excess baggage! Make like the wind and blow outta here...!" He pushed a button on the controls, and yellow laser impacted into the Blackbird wing just in front of Glenn. "Mwa ha! You are like insects to me!"

"Epoch...go...now!" Ayla gestured for them to jump.

"It's all your fault!..." Marle yelled at Dalton. "Crono... Give back Crono!!" With that, she jumped off the wing of the Blackbird as Dalton circled around again, and landed roughly on the wing of the Epoch. She levelled her crossbow at Dalton's head. Dalton gulped. He had felt the fury of a woman scorned once before, and he didn't want to go through it again. With a loud thump, Glenn and Ayla landed on the nose and wing of the craft, respectively.

"You, you...!" He yelled at them. "Take this!!" Dalton launched his most potent magic at them. But his weasly skills were no match for Marle and Glenn's powerful water magic combos. Ayla's physical skills weren't too shabby either. Dalton used his strongest fire attacks, but soon collapsed under the onslaught. He raised his fist in the air, and a black portal formed behind him. "Go! Golem Boss...??" But no Golem Boss was forthcoming. Instead, the empty portal sucked him inside, to whatever odd zone the Golems inhabited.

"Pant... wheeze..." Marle breathed heavily as she calmed down.

"That groundling thief!" Glenn growled.

"Epoch, okay?" Ayla was concerned. "Epoch...steer okay?"

"Is everything okay?!" Marle asked Glenn. "Quick, check the controls!"

'I don't remember seeing this before...' He thought, pushing a button. A laser shot out of the Epoch and ran all along the Blackbird's left wing. Explosions erupted along the wing, and the plane went into a nose dive, crashing into the ocean.

"Yea! Justice! Dalton got what he deserved!" The people in the Last Village shouted.

"Whoah! That ship can fly!" The elder observed.

"Fantastic!" Glenn smiled. "We are actually in his debt!"

"Epoch in good shape!" Ayla smiled as well. "Epoch... become bird!!"

"Crono..." Marle's thoughts had never strayed far from him.

"That poor lad..." Glenn bowed his head.

"Crono strong! Crono won't die!!" Ayla said, as if that ended the matter for her.

"Crono's gotta be somewhere! I'll find him!!" Marle exclaimed adamantly.

They landed the Epoch near the commons, and walked back into the clearing. The purple cat Marle remembered as Alfador was following a little boy around. She stopped to pet him while Glenn talked to some of the people. He found out that a stranger had come looking for them, and was up at the north cape now. Without another word, Glenn turned and headed up to the cape. He didn't notice anything unusual, until he walked out to the very end. A small glowing object was sitting there. As he peered closer, he saw it was a sort of amulet. Suddenly, he felt someone appearing behind him. He whirled around, and saw no one, then felt it behind him again. He whirled again, and saw Magus standing at the edge of the cape. "So, it's you..." He growled.

"Magus!" All three of them immediately drew their weapons.

Magus ignored the threat. "Behold. Everything's at the bottom of the sea.. Gone is the magical kingdom of Zeal, and all the dreams and ambitions of its people. I once lived there... But I was a different person then." He bowed his head, then explained everything about the accident that had thrown him into he past, and into Ozzie's clutches. He wasn't even sure why he was doing it, he just knew that things couldn't go on like they had been.

"So! Thou art..." Glenn sputtered. "..thou art that filthy urchin!"

Magus remained silent for a moment, then decided to ignore that remark. "Ever since Lavos's time portal stranded me in the Middle Ages... I have waited to even the score. You interrupted me just when I had summoned Lavos to my castle. How ironic that, having been drawn into yet another portal, I would end up in this age. Being from the future, my knowledge of the past enabled me to convince the Queen that I was a mighty oracle. But no history book could have prepared me for what happened here. Unimaginable is the power of Lavos. Anyone who dares to oppose... it... meets certain doom. At this rate, you too, will meet a hideous fate. Just like that poor fool, Crono!"

Glenn suddenly looked a lot more pissed off then he already was. He remained speechless for a moment, then sputtered, "You dare to insult him?!"

"He's history!" Magus began tugging on his glove, unsure of what Glenn would do. "Play with fire and you get burned."

"Magus!! Hold thy tongue!" Glenn practically screamed.

"You wish to fight me?" Magus asked with a dangerous glint in his eye.

It took most of his self control, but Glenn lowered his sword. "No... Vanquishing thee will neither return Crono nor Cyrus." Magus remained silent, and turned his back on them. He really couldn't understand that sort of rationale. Glenn turned and slowly walked the other way.

"Wait." Magus said simply. "I'll come with you."

"Treachery!!" Glenn screamed.

"You know, there just might be a way to bring him back." Magus ignored his rant.

"Nonsense...!?" Glenn was slow to accept it.

"Gaspar, the Guru of Time, knows how to restore lost or misplaced time streams..." He shrugged. Glenn reluctantly used the gate key to send Ayla back, and croaked the indignity when Magus pushed him back and took the lead. Marle put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Let him be a jerk, if he can get Crono back." Glenn simmered, but accepted it as he came to a slow realization. Lavos had made Magus everything he was. All the evil Magus had caused, had been indirectly or directly because of Lavos. Lavos was the true evil here, not Magus.

"Very well." He croaked quietly. "For Crono's sake..."

They walked back out on the snow filled plains, and boarded the Epoch. Almost no sooner had they taken off, then a blue light began to glow from the Ocean, and the water began to ripple.

"What's that?!" Marle pointed. Glenn's eyes widened.

"That's...!" Magus began, but couldn't finish his sentence. Electricity crackled over the water, and a huge structure slowly rose out of the waves. It was Zealian in design, all right, but did not have the same bright colors as every other Zealian structure. It was as if the architect had been in a very bad mood.

"I think they're calling us..." Marle whispered.

"The Ocean Palace hath risen? Surely, it doth beckon us!" Glenn agreed with her.

"...The Undersea Palace?" Magus gave them a funny look. "This is impossible...!" But as he flew closer to it, he wasn't so sure.

"We have other unfinished business..." Marle said as he began to steer toward it.

"I suppose you two couldn't handle it. Very well." Magus turned the Epoch away, then quickly set the dial to the End of Time. Glenn quickly suppressed the urge to bash his head in.

.

"Now THAT was special."

"Quite. I guess it means a hero's true power comes from within." - Masa and Mune


	31. The Black Omen

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 31**

**The Black Omen**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

"Okay people!" Magus called back. "Can anyone think of any reason why we can't tackle the Omen now? You've certainly taken your sweet time up to this point."

"There is nary a thing left Magus, but to kill Lavos." Glenn said quietly.

"For once Glenn, I'm in complete agreement. How 'bout you kid?" He called back to Crono. Crono didn't say anything, he just shook his head. He was still finding it hard to believe that he was alive. One second, he had been about to be blown apart while trapped in the middle of Lavos' energy vortex, and the next, he was sitting in the snow, leaning against a tree, with Marle weeping on his shoulder. He was snapped out of his thoughts as the canopy whooshed open, and they jumped out onto the side of the Omen. A group of laser guards in front of the main gate fired at them, but Magus quickly destroyed them by summoning a Dark Mist. Magus led the charge inside, and was surprised to find Zeal standing just inside the gate. He whipped out his scythe.

"Fools!" Zeal laughed scornfully. "Haven't you learned your lesson?! We are immortal! We shall live forever with Lavos, who devours this planet even as he sleeps. Draining this planet's power, Lavos will rule the world in a mere 14,000 years. The Black Omen is a path which leads to Lavos. It is a shrine which provides us with limitless power. As long as the mighty one reigns, your dreams are hopeless!" Suddenly, a black portal of the kind Dalton had used to summon Golems appeared behind her, but what popped out was a life form severely mutated by Lavos' energy. "You should sacrifice yourself to the mighty Lavos! HAAhahahaha!" With that, she teleported away.

'Well, that's a new twist on the evil laugh.' Magus thought as he buried his scythe in the mutant's skull. The mutant fought hard and fierce, spraying them with poison and sleeping gas, but Glenn and Crono beat the crap out of it while Magus sat back and blasted it with his strongest spells. It was dead in just a few minutes.

"That wasn't too bad." Crono smiled as he sheathed his sword.

"Kid, I'm sure that was just the warm up." Magus grimaced at him. And indeed it was. The huge palace was filled with mutants, mystics, and some really weird creatures that had probably rode in on the meteor with Lavos. After what seemed like ages, Magus saw that they were close to the top of the Omen. He was about to go charging up another flight of stairs, when a high pitched growl stopped him. A small version of a rather infamous creature shuffled into view. "A Lavos spawn!!" He roared. All three of them went fairly ballistic on the creature, but they were careful enough to remember not to attack the shell. Finally, when the critter looked just about spent, Magus charged up and rammed his scythe all the way through the front pod, severing it from the body.

"If only the big guy was that simple." Crono lamented.

"If the big guy was that simple, I'd be extremely disappointed." Magus shook a finger at him. They stepped cautiously into the next chamber, and were all surprised to see images of Crono and Marle floating in pillars of light. Two more pillars contained Lucca and Robo, and another two behind that contained Glenn and Ayla. "Looks like I'm the wild card." Magus grinned. But his grin faded fast as he approached what looked to be the blasted remains of the Mammon Machine. Zeal teleported into the air slightly above, then floated gently down until she was perched on it, as if it was her new throne.

"Behold, my pretties! Destiny, in its most brutal form." She said as way of a greeting. "All the dreams that might have been. All the happiness, and sorrow, you might have experienced. Gone forever!! For you there will be no tomorrow! The Dark Omen transcends time and space, waiting for Lavos to awaken! Destiny has led you here. And here you shall rest forever, unless you can defeat me, and smash the Omen!" Magus accepted the challenge. He drew his scythe, and Crono and Glenn surrounded her and drew the Rainbow and Masamune, respectively. "Come, dear friends. Perhaps I can persuade Lavos to share his dreams with you! Did I say dreams? I meant his eternal nightmare!" An odd rainbow colored light radiated out from Zeal, and everyone dropped to their knees. But Glenn quickly raised up his arms, and a giant frog fell from seemingly out of nowhere, smashing Zeal into the floor. Crono used Confuse, and Magus blasted her with Dark Matter. She flew back into the remains of the machine, breathing heavily.

"Argh! My powers don't seem to work here!" Then she got an idea. "Wait! I'll simply toss you into the Mammon Machine! You'll be one with the Omen, Lavos... and me!"

The three were suddenly warped into a weird zone, facing a new, silver colored Mammon Machine. It made no move as they began to bust it up, until Magus struck a critical valve, and it suddenly released all the energy it had stored. That hurt pretty bad, but not enough to stop them. Except for occasional Point Flares, the Mammon Machine offered no further resistance as the three dismantled it and scattered the pieces to the four winds.

Then they were out of the zone, and Magus realized they were standing on top of the Black Omen. Blue lights began shooting out of the structure, eventually forming a diamond with Zeal standing inside. "You cretins..." She cursed. "I plan to live with Lavos, and control the universe forever. You will not get in my way!"

Magus clenched his fist, and bowed his head. "Idiots... Nothing can live forever." Then he glared upwards, and pointed at Zeal. "Zeal... A pitiful woman, duped by Lavos! I, myself, will bring an end to all of this!" He drew his scythe once more, but more slowly this time.

Zeal obviously wasn't intimidated. "Prophet! You are doomed. I haven't forgotten what you did at the Ocean Palace. You will now forfeit your life." Lavos' energy surrounded her, and she became nothing but a large floating mask, and two gloved hands.

"Is she flipping us off?" Crono wondered out loud.

"It sure looks that way kid. C'mon, let's wipe the smirk of her face!" The three proceeded to strut their best stuff, but apparently, Zeal was a little tougher in this form. She counterattacked with Skygate, MP Buster, and Hallation. Then, a purple beam of light shot out of each hand, knocking Crono and Glenn to the ground, where they didn't move.

Magus looked at them, then up at her. "You know who I really am, don't you?"

"Of course, Janus." The mask smiled.

"Can you come down here and talk to me for a minute?"

"Whatever you plan to say, it won't do any good. But you are my son, so I suppose I could grant you a final boon."

"Oh, you're so incredibly generous." He grimaced as the human form of Zeal appeared in front of him.

"I try. Now, what do you want?" She demanded.

"Why do you want to be immortal? Why is this so important to you?"

"I came close to dying once, when there should have been no danger. I don't ever want to feel that way again."

"Death isn't necessarily an end." His eyes narrowed. "I learned that much from Schala."

"My poor little girl..." Zeal whispered.

"What?" Magus could hardly believe his ears. Could her bastard son possibly have as much sway with her as her beautiful daughter? To be safe, he decided to pretend he hadn't heard that. "Besides, Vigo saved you from dying. And he would again, if he were here." Zeal remained silent, and Magus came to a sudden realization. 'That's the key isn't it...?' "Are you sure this is what you want, mother?" She remained expressionless. "Think a minute. If you become immortal, you will never see Vigo again!!"

She managed to hold it a split second longer, then her face contorted, and she burst into tears. "NOOOO!!"

"You want to see him again, you have to go. And I know the human inside you does."

She looked up at him through tear filled eyes. "Janus, you have to kill me, before Lavos takes control again. I told Schala to do that once before, but she waited too long. I want to see my husband..."

Magus hesitated, then raised his scythe again. "I wish it hadn't come down to this. But I'm too used to killing to refuse you." He lowered the point at her heart.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you Janus. I know you're not Vigo's son, but that never would have mattered to me. I wanted to be your mother Janus, but Lavos could never allow it. I'm so sorry."

Magus looked at her, for once without hate in his eyes. "I'm sorry too." Then, he drove the point deep into her chest, tearing the wall of her heart.

"Aaugghhhh!!" The side of her controlled by Lavos instantly took over again. "What has happened? Eyaaaaggggghhhh!!" Lavos' energy consumed her, and the mask and gloves reappeared. Magus quickly drew out two revives, threw them at Crono and Glenn, then smashed a Megalixer on the ground. To Crono and Glenn, it seemed that nothing had happened, but Magus could clearly feel that her attacks were nowhere near as strong. Finally, Crono cut loose with Confuse, and on the final stroke, the mask shattered. The human form of Zeal reappeared, holding her hand over the wound, trying to repair it. Magus was a little apprehensive, but then he saw that the severity of the wound would make the healing process take a long time. Lavos would be dead before it was finished.

"How dare you insects come after ME!" She screamed at them. "Oh almighty Lavos, lend me your power!" Vibrations began to shake the Omen. "Mwa, ha, ha... At last, Lavos awakens! Compared with him, you are like germs. But I... I shall obtain immortality!" With those final words, Zeal slowly faded away.

'Oh, you're really going to pay for this Lavos. If Vigo were here, he would beat the holy crap out of you. But since he's not, I'm going to fill in!' As the Omen crumbled beneath him, Magus plunged head first into his final task:

The battle to kill Lavos!

.

"Death solves all problems. No man, no problem." - Joseph Stalin

Nanaki: Robo suggested this quote, and as you can obviously tell, it won. A lot of people suggested Kefka and Terra's conversation at the end of Final Fantasy III, or some of Magus' sayings, but most of us have heard those more than once. This one is good, unique, and it fits. Good idea Robo!


	32. Epilogue 1: Schala

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Epilogue 1**

**Schala**

By Nanaki

12,000 B.C.

Schala inhaled deeply as she finally broke the surface of the water. It wasn't that her lungs really needed the air, but they were just so used to the routine of breathing that it was not pleasant when they couldn't work. Schala had spent what she guessed was about a week swimming out of the ruins of the Ocean Palace, until most of them mysteriously disappeared not very long ago. It seemed like she had been pretty deep, because it had taken a while to float to the surface afterward. She spotted a small island not very far away, and swam toward it.

As soon as she set foot on the shore, waves of magic swarmed around her, and she was hit with a sudden realization. 'This is Enhasa.' Only about one hundred feet of the broken mountain of dreams remained above water, but it was Enhasa all right. The Mountain of Woe was no more. Looking around, Schala determined that everything else was no more also. Then her eyes widened as she saw a huge structure floating in the distance. Her heart sank as she saw that nothing else was floating. It was a strangely sunny day, and Zeal should have been clearly visible. There was nothing in the sky. 'Great. Now what am I going to do?' She grumbled to herself.

Suddenly, a blue flash behind her caused her to turn. A blue portal like the kind she had sealed up after Crono went in not too long ago appeared in front of her. Appearing from it was...

"Schala!! I can't believe I finally got here at the right place and time!" Magus' eyes widened until they were very large. "This should have been the first place I looked, but I... Three years is too long to spend searching. I'm sorry. How are you feeling? Cold? Hurt?"

Schala regarded him for a second, then narrowed her eyes. "Prophet, I've got nothing to say to you." She turned her back on him.

"No Schala, I'm-"

"I know who you are Janus! Do you think I'm stupid?! But you were quite the jerk in Prophet mode, I must say!"

His jaw dropped. "I... I'm sorry. But I felt I had to be on Zeal's side in order to get her to trust me. I would make my move when she was most vulnerable. But she was never really vulnerable, and I acted too late. I'm sure you can identify with that."

She looked at him again. "How'd you get to be older than me anyway?" Then she held up her hand. "No, never mind. I'm sure Lavos had a hand in it." She looked down at the water for a minute. "You know, I'm really not sure what to do with myself now."

He shrugged. "Well, I now reside 12,603 years in the future, but I think the people in the Last Village would also be glad to see you."

"Maybe... First, someone still has to do something about Lavos."

"Don't worry about that." Magus dismissed Lavos with a wave of his hand. "I promised you I'd kill him, and I did." Then he looked over at the Black Omen. As he watched, a blue light began to glow in the water. "In about fifteen minutes, as a matter of fact."

"Lavos... dead?" Schala gasped.

"You got it. Zeal too. Right about..." A huge white explosion burst out of the water, destroying the Omen in a matter of seconds. The very top vanished in a puff of smoke. "Now." Magus smiled.

Schala's eyes glazed over, and she broke into a big grin. "I can't believe it. My powers are back! I've gotta try them out. Star magic, now!" Sure enough, a yellow ball of light formed, shrank to a very small size, then burst outward in a huge explosion that knocked Magus off his feet. "Yea-ah!" After the dust settled, Schala picked a rock up off the ground and jammed it into her arm. She was disappointed to see the Nooze scramble to seal her back up. "Still no blood though. That sucks." Then she looked up at Magus.

"If Lavos is gone, what I want most is to find some way to be alive again." Magus opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't start me in on some pep talk. I'm alive yes, but my body is truly dead. The Nooze keeps me from decomposing, but that's it. No pain, no pleasure, everything feels the same to me."

"Yeah, that sucks." Magus had to admit. "A Chrono Trigger wouldn't work for your particular situation, since you did stay alive after you died, weird as that sounds. I don't really know how important you are to the space/time continuum..."

"Oh, she's very important."

"Gaah!" Magus and Schala both jumped. A second blue portal was right next to the first now, although neither had heard it open or close. In front of it stood Gaspar, although he was dressed in some decidedly odd clothes, with a black motif. "What are you doing here?" Magus demanded in an icy voice.

"Gaspar?" Schala asked. "It's good to see you..." She began to walk toward him.

"Stay back Schala!!" Magus put a hand on her shoulder. "This old coot has gone off the deep end!"

"I wouldn't worry about him." Another voice broke in.

"Gaah!" All three of them jumped. Out of yet another portal emerged a man who looked like Magus, except his widow's peak had reduced in pointiness quite a bit, and his ears were rounded.

"Who are you?!" Magus demanded.

"I'm you, Janus. In a couple years, that is."

"What happened to you, er, me?"

"Lifestream radiation does wear off if you stay away for a while."

"Huh?"

Janus sighed. "You've been living with mystics most of your life, and they're crawling with it. Spend some time with humans."

"So why are you here, anyway?" Magus demanded.

"I'm here to stop myself from doing something I very much regret today." Then Janus seemed to notice Gaspar for the first time. "Hey, O High Shadow."

"I can't help but notice that you don't seem to be overly afraid." Gaspar said, peeved.

"You got that right!" Janus laughed. "Your Shadows are obsolete, old man!"

"Well, that's certainly news to me." Gaspar frowned. "We were doing quite well, the last time I checked."

"I have to say, that's news to me too." Magus broke in. "Although I would check with Theik on how well you're doing, Gaspar."

Schala backed away from all of them. "I don't know what's going on here, and I don't think I want to."

"You've got nothing to worry about Schala." Janus smiled at her. "I know you feel miserable now, but trust me, things will work out for you. They always do in the end." Gaspar took a step forward. Janus and Magus both put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh no you don't." Janus' eyes narrowed.

"B-but, you'll create a paradox!" Gaspar sputtered.

"Big worm whoopee." Janus didn't loosen his hold. Magus glared at him.

"Now where would I pick up such an idiotic expression?!" He demanded.

"Concentrate, my good man. Even obsolete weapons can be quite powerful." Janus pointed at Gaspar. The old man lost his patience and lunged forward. The two wizards quickly forced him back.

"No!" Gaspar shouted. "She has to die! Paradoxes are extremely dangerous!" Schala recoiled in horror.

"If you've seen the future, as you claim, then you know you'll have to kill both of us before you ever touch a hair on her head." Janus growled.

"I think I've heard just about enough out of you." Magus growled also. He hurled Gaspar back toward the gate the old man had emerged from.

"Nooo...!" He vanished with his now catch phrase, "No one survives the Shadows!"

Janus shook his head, then looked up at Magus. "Don't listen to him. Nearly everyone who's not a Shadow survives the Shadows."

"What... happened to him?" Schala whispered.

"Too much work with time streams and paradoxes is bad for the sanity." Janus explained. "He thinks he's seen the future, and feels he has to make what he sees happen, or else a paradox will be created, which will just about end the world, according to him."

Schala shook the odd experience off. "Um... Anyway, we were discussing options on restoring my body." Janus glanced over at the spot in the ocean where he, Crono, and Glenn were battling Lavos.

"Uh oh. Uh, time to go, Magus." He pulled his younger self toward the gate.

"Hey, what's going on here? I'm trying to help our sister."

"I know. I remember. And you can help her best by leaving, right now!"

"I think not! I've been searching for three years!"

"I know! You can wait a few months more!" Janus reached into his belt and whipped out a Tempo Trigger. "I can use this, if I have to."

Magus reached into his own belt and whipped out a Chrono Trigger. "Will it beat this?"

"The two are totally different things." Janus sighed.

"Will the Chrono Trigger come out on top? And don't think you can lie to me!"

Janus sighed again. "Yes, it will. I was hoping you'd listen to reason."

"I probably will. But give me some reasons then!"

Suddenly, Lavos' scream echoed across the water, and Schala cringed. As the scream died away, something launched out of the top of Lavos' shell. "What's that?" Schala pointed to it.

"Damn it! It's already too late!" Janus cursed.

"What the...?" Magus squinted. "That looks like a Lavos spawn."

"Where's it going?" She asked quickly.

He shrugged. "Out into space somewhere. Away from here, is the important thing."

"Into space... To terrorize some other unprepared planet?!"

"Schala, what are you-?"

"No!! No more people will have to suffer through what we have!" She started to cast a spell, then though for a minute. "If I'm going after a new Lavos, I'm going to need my dagger..." She stretched her arm out, and concentrated. For a minute, nothing happened, but then the Masamune flew out of the watery depths, the hilt settling into the palm of her hand. "Well, this is new." She admired the strong blade. "But it's the dagger, all right."

"Wait. Glenn needs that sword, uh... ..to kill Lavos!"

"Does this Glenn person live in the future, with you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"I'll have it back in plenty of time." Then she looked him straight in the eye. "Well Janus, I'll be going." Schala closed her eyes, folded her arms, and began casting a spell. Magus jumped back as a shield similar to the one Melchior had used on Mount Woe surrounded her. Suddenly, it launched off the ground, racing up into the sky after the Lavoid.

"Schala, wait!!" But her pursuit was unrelenting. "Crud! I have to go help her!" Magus raced for the gate.

"No." Janus said simply as he stepped forward to block Magus' way.

"I can't just let her go after a new Lavos alone!!"

"Yes, you can! Believe me. You'll only be making what she has to go through worse if you go too!"

"What she has to go through?" He demanded. "See? She'll need help!"

"Not the kind you end up giving!"

"Don't make me kill myself." Magus said dangerously, as a threat to Janus. "I'll be careful. Besides, wouldn't you be creating a paradox by stopping me? It sounds like you went along."

"Yes. I was hoping I could make it easier on her. You should know, battling a Lavoid is no easy task." Magus nodded, then ran for the gate. As he disappeared, Janus couldn't help shouting, "Just don't cut any deals with someone named Gazuga, Moogoo, Habeeb, or-" Then, Magus was gone. "Great." Janus groaned to himself. "Just watch Leng be the first one he runs into..." Then, he turned and looked at the sky. "God speed Schala! Someone very special is waiting for you there, although he doesn't know it... Give Ertai my regards too!" Then, he stepped back through his own gate, and the landscape was barren once more, the silence broken only by Lavos' death shriek.

.

"It'll be okay... This nightmare'll be over soon. I've had enough! I will not allow this! I will pay you back! Because forgiveness, for one like you, could never be an option!" - Achika Masaki


	33. Epilogue 2: Magus

**The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Epilogue 2**

**Magus**

By Nanaki

1,005 A.D.

Lucca sighed as she sat back into Taban's easy chair. Her father was delivering his newest invention to Guardia Castle, and she finally had the house to herself. Just as she kicked her shoes off, there was an insistent knock at the door. "Oh great, now what's going on?" She grumbled to herself. But her eyes widened as she opened the door. "Janus? What are you doing here?"

"The name's Magus." He said quietly. He hadn't been overly fond of his future self. "I need to borrow the Epoch, real quick here."

"Why? What's the rush anyway?"

"I want to get going fast, and there's no time to explain! Yes or no, in five seconds."

"Well, no. You need to-"

"Forget it." Magus barged inside, then ran through the back of the house and outside, quickly spotting the small hangar where the Epoch was stored.

"Hey!" Lucca yelled at him, but he paid no attention. "Well, that's Magus all right. I thought he was over that phase. Oh well..." Lucca pushed a button on her belt, then sat back down.

Magus was about three yards from the Epoch, when a cry rang out. "Halt Magus!!" Whirling around, he spotted a man with green hair charging toward him.

"Glenn?! What the hell are you-" He was cut off as Glenn bowled into him, knocking him off his feet. Glenn backed up, then quickly drew out the Masamune. "Don't think you can scare me with that." Magus coughed. "I met an older version of myself, I know I can't die here."

Glenn began twirling the Masamune in midair. "Unlike Gaspar, I possess no inner fear of paradoxes. Now, how dare you act so rudely toward Madame Lucca!"

"I don't want to take the time to explain! Suffice to say, I need the Epoch to help Schala." Glenn stopped twirling the Masamune. "Look Glenn, you're the only one of these idiots who ever had a clue. You know I have to do this." The sword wavered in his hands.

"All right... But you'd better bring it back in one piece! No one has ever been successful in duplicating it!"

"You got it!" Magus hopped into the cock pit, then blasted off as fast as he could go.

"What the...?" Lucca stepped outside. "Glenn! Why did you let him take it!"

"He had a good reason..." Glenn grimaced, although he still looked angry too.

"You can both calm down." The two whirled around, to find themselves facing Janus.

"Janus! But didn't you just...?" Lucca trailed off.

"No, I was still truly Magus at that point." He dismissed that concern. "Do you guys remember, a couple years back, how no one could find me in any time period for a few months?"

"Yes. I suspected some form of treachery on your part." Glenn glared at him.

"Well, this is what I was doing." Janus ignored Glenn's remark, figuring he deserved it. "If you'll just come back inside, I'll explain everything..."

.

Magus was about to push the throttle forward, sending the Epoch back to 12,000 B.C., when he observed something odd in Leene Square. 'What the hell? If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a gate. But didn't Lucca say that all the gates were going to close, right before I went through it...?" He steered down to just outside the square, then ran in. When he got to the north section the telepod had been stored in, he was surprised to see a young teenager tearing off some ragged Earthbound type clothes, revealing a black tank top and shorts underneath.

"Well, well, well." He smiled thinly. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Ertai glared up at him. "Who the hell are... Wait a minute, you're that Prophet guy I saw with Zeal!" He backed up defensively.

"Please!" Magus dismissed that concern. "That was just a little ruse. You should know who I really am."

"Sorry. I've never seen you before, in that case."

"This should refresh your memory." Magus smiled, then kicked Ertai hard in the shin.

"Ow!! Why you little!-" Ertai tackled Magus with surprising force, and they both smashed into the ground. "Janus?" He coughed.

"Bingo kid." Magus nodded.

"Kid? Hey, no matter how much you might have aged, I'm older than you!"

"Whatever floats your boat." Magus shrugged, then thought, 'Great. I'm turning into my idiot older self already!' "One thing though. Call me Magus."

"Well then, Magus, would you mind telling me just what in the hell is going on?"

"Simple. Lavos caught you in a Time Gate which sent you to this year, sometime not too far after 1,000 A.D. The time you knew as the present was 12,000 B.C. Welcome to the future."

"How can I get back?" He quickly demanded.

"The process is fairly simple, seeing as I've got a time machine here. But there wouldn't be much to go back to. Lavos pretty much blew up everything."

"Then we have to go back to stop him!"

"Negative on that. I already killed Lavos anyway. If you stopped him, it would change too much history."

"So what am I supposed to do with myself?"

"Well, Schala just took off after a fleeing Lavos spawn into deep space. I was about to go help her kill it. Care to come along?"

Ertai glanced around. "I would rather do something interesting than just hang around here. All right! I'll be perfectly willing to kill another Lavos!"

"Great. Hop in the cockpit." Magus gestured. Ertai scrambled in. Magus jumped in after him, and closed the canopy, then blasted off at too many machs to count. They were back in 12,000 B.C. almost instantly. Then Magus aimed the front straight up, and blasted into deep space. "For Schala!" He yelled.

"For Greven!" Ertai shouted too. Then they looked at each other, and said simultaneously,

"For everything they might have had!!"

.

"You can't get there from here. Well, you can... it just won't be fun." - Ertai, wizard adept


	34. Epilogue 3: Zeal

**The Origin Of Mount Woe Epilogue 3**

**Zeal**

By Nanaki

Timeless

Zeal barely had the strength to teleport back to the room below the top of the Omen. She kept trying to staunch the blood flowing from her chest, but her healing powers just didn't seem to work. Across the room, the blasted remains of the Mammon Machine seemed to glare at her accusingly. She tried to pull in more of Lavos' energy, but there wasn't any there. 'Why can't I use his power?' She thought desperately as the life drained from her. Then she came to a sudden realization. The three intruders were battling Lavos, and winning! He was using all his power to fight them. There would be no more energy for her, probably ever.

Then the top of the Omen vanished as the huge explosion Lavos had started destroyed it, and Zeal's body along with that. So much for immortality. But the part of Zeal that had cared about immortality was gone forever, leaving only the soul of the human woman inside.

'Where am I?' Zeal felt herself call weakly. She couldn't really see anything, but she felt several clouds of swirling green mist around her in the darkness.

'Someplace where you can finally rest.' A reassuring voice answered.

'I'm finally dead then.'

'Finally... Huh. I wish it hadn't come down to that, but yes.'

'Then... Vigo?'

'Bingo!' His mist swirled faster, and she could picture his special grin. 'I've missed you Zeal.'

'But... Do you still care for me, after everything I've done?'

'That wasn't you!' Vigo said adamantly. 'It was all the Lavoid's fault.'

'But before that even... Karak...'

'You only liked him because he reminded you of me.'

'Ever the modest one, aren't you Vigo?' Zeal felt another familiar cloud float toward them.

'Greven? I really have to apologize to you.'

'Forget about it. It was totally Lavos' fault. I knew that even before I died. And anyway, I'm scheduled to be reborn in, oh, about three minutes here. You had the option of coming along Vigo, what's it going to be?'

'It was originally going to be me or Schala. Since Schala's already going along, in a way, I don't feel it's necessary.'

'Yeah, you just want to stay with Zeal. I can understand that.' Then his cloud seemed to swirl all around, as though he were looking for something. 'I don't know how long Rofellos is going to let you keep her here. She's not exactly a hero, you know.'

'I can handle him. I believe he'll understand.'

Greven remained silent for a moment. 'Oh! My body's heart just started beating. I better get going. Hope I get longer than 17 years this time. I was cheated the last time around!'

'You can't always get what you want.' Vigo said solemnly. 'You are facing a higher class Lavoid this time around, you know.'

'I know. But Schala's basically lived two lives for the price of one. She'll be able to handle it, even if I can't.'

'Good luck, Greven.'

'See you next time, Vigo.' With that, he was gone.

'What just happened here?' Zeal asked.

'Politics, war. Don't worry about it.' He remained silent for a moment. 'Don't worry about anything. You've gone through enough.' Then his cloud swirled around, and drifted into hers.

'Whoah? What...? Is this, like a link?'

'Sort of.' She saw his grin again. 'But links aren't nearly this intense...'

.

"I'll be fine. I can defeat these guys!" - Vigo

.

MOUNT WOE CREDITS

Well, that's finally it for Mount Woe, although Schala's story is far from over. There are a substantial number of people I would like to thank.

First, whichever story writer at Square came up with the ideas for Schala and Zeal, both the kingdom and the person. I don't want to thank all of Square, because some story writer over there also came up with the idea to kill Aerith! If it turns out that the same guy was responsible for both, remind me to shoot myself, because then obviously everything in the world is arbitrary anyway.

Next, Icy Brian for making all of this possible, and making a kick ass web page besides!

Third, Keith Adams, for writing the first Chrono Trigger fanfic I ever read. His story is the reason mine is fifty chapters long. As you can also tell, I incorporated his reality into my story somewhat, at the end anyway. Since it appears he's no longer writing, I assumed he wouldn't mind. Keith, if you ever see this, finish Shadow Ashes! It was looking really good!

Dark Magus and Don Eskridge, for talking to the newbie, and giving me feedback on the story in its early days.

Enrique Saul Gonzalez, Krazy Sam, and all the other Legionaires. For being good friends, especially over the winter, when all my RPGs were taken away. Without you guys, I would have gone insane.

Next, and quite surprisingly, Albert Chang, for giving us all someone we could really hate.

And last, every person who bothered to read this story! Thank you, everyone.

.

So, now I'm sure you're all wondering what's going to happen to Schala, Magus, and Ertai. And Greven too, as I'm sure most of you have realized. What does Vigo have to do with it? What's this business about a "higher class Lavoid?" Don't worry, you'll find out in my next monster story: Tempo Trigger!

But first, I'm going to take my turn at writing a story about Crono and the 1,000 A.D. crew. It won't be nearly as long as this, but it'll be good, don't worry. It's a little something I like to call, "The Trials of the King." And it's probably not about what you're thinking as you read this. Stay tuned people, I'll be seeing you again real soon.

Nanaki

(Nanaki's note: I don't have too much to add here, but I do want to give a shout out to a lot of people who I either hadn't met or didn't know well yet back in June of 1998, when this story was originally finished. So, I also want to thank ZealPropht, NeoKefka, Jerm, Paul Nathans, Minmei, Black, Mox Jet, Nightsong, Cain, MagiTek Knight, Myshu, and even Flux Capacitor. There are a ton of others who's specific nicknames I don't really remember. Basically, if you ever visited #ctfanfic or #icybrian between 1998 and 2002, thanks! Also, Trials of the King is complete, and so are the first fifty four chapters of Tempo Trigger, so look for those here soon. This is Nanaki, signing off on Mount Woe.)


End file.
